Stand Fast
by starfoxtwin
Summary: This is a new story taking place after Episode 2, Season 2, New Challenges await Captain Chandler and Dr. Rachel Scott. What will be their new relationship now that the Captain's wife is dead? The Captain and crew of the Nathan James will be rebuilding what was left of their country and of this brave new world. What adventures lie ahead?
1. Chapter 1

All eyes were on the jets which took off from the Navy base in Norfolk, headed for those designated to receive the vaccine and doctors and scientists to begin to make the vaccine in mass to eventually cover every area of the US and other parts of the world. Everyone on the deck of the Nathan James was cheering as were all military personnel left on the ground.

The Chandler children also watched the jets streak across the early morning sky. Ashley was proudly pointing out to her brother, Sammy, that their dad had done that, as she pointed to the sky. The Captain's father, Jed was so proud of his son.

In contrast, the Captain himself still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and the most profound sense of guilt. He had felt that he had failed Darien. He had failed Rachel and his crew both on land and sea. He had made wrong choices and trusted the wrong people. He had not even been able to really face Rachel and had not spoken to her at any length, since they had met up at Avocet, after Tex had rescued her and Kara.

He had asked if she was alright and she told him that Quincy was dead. He had taken his own life rather than give up the primordial stain, letting the trouper think the secret had died with him. Rachel had been devastated by this, he could tell. He was so relieved that she was safe and unharmed, but dreaded what he would hear about what was happening to his people aboard the ship he had left to fend for themselves, in his absence. When he found what Amy Granderson had tried to do to Kara, he realized how far her evil extended.

After they got back to the ship and he heard of the heroism of his own people in the face of what they had to endure and the headcount of the dead had hit him, not to mention the devastation he was bringing his family into, he was not in the greatest of emotional states. He had to put on an absolutely strong face for his crew, though he was anything but stable underneath it all.

He did what he was trained to do and the mop up was done and everything was put back in place. His personnel had to do some double duty to cover those who had died, but it all got done at his command and carried out by Mike and Jetter. Rachel got her lab back up as much as possible after so much of it had been removed. It was being reconstructed as best she could make it. She had her own mop up to do and without Quincy, it was not easy.

The Captain personally had led a team to the Whitehouse in DC and they found a video which led them to find the network of labs that had been set up to mass produce the vaccine when the Nathan James brought it home. After the Nathan James returned to Norfolk and found that there was a Navy presence there and pilots from the Navy and Air Force, as well as a number of Navy Seals who were trying to stabilize that area, the Captain had made sure that the Nathan James tried and succeeded to contact many of these labs, what was left of them, in different parts of the world and within the US, though some had gone dark, including the location in Norfolk.

Rachel was very excited when she reached her old mentor at one of the labs in Florida. She was thrilled to speak with him again. He unfortunately told her that he had not heard from Michael, her journalist boyfriend, in months and that he had last been in an extremely hot zone in China. It was clear that he thought Michael had not made it out alive. Rachel felt that she would finally have to deal with the idea that he was gone. It was probably true that she had very few people who had been friends of hers who were still alive. At least her old mentor was alive and she would cling to that.

Now that they were at last hearing that the vaccine and the medical and scientific personnel had landed at their designated areas so that the vaccine could be mass produced and distributed, the Captain took his family to their old home in Norfolk to pick up things to take back to the ship. He had been very busy over this last week or so and that was good because it helped him not have to deal with his feelings of loss and his guilt. At least he could do something to make things better.

Now, however, he returned to their home with the children and his dad, the home that he had shared with Darien. The children ran ahead of him to get to their rooms to collect what they would take back to the ship. They were going through their clothes and belongings.

The Captain stood in the hall where all of the family's collection of special photographs was displayed. He saw his and Darien's wedding pictures as he ran his finger tracing her bare arm from her shoulder to her delicate wrist, remembering how beautiful she was when that picture was taken on their wedding day and how in love they had been. He turned his eyes to their bedroom and the four poster bed that they had shared, the last time he had been home. He could not block the memory of their last night together in that very bed, before he had left on the Nathan James for the Arctic. How sweet her lips felt against his, remembering their last embrace. He stepped to her dressing table, where her hairbrush still rested along with her perfume bottles. He picked up her favorite, one he had given her. He held it to his nose and he closed his eyes as her scent filled the room. It was more than he could bear as his head came down and the tears started to flow. God, how he loved her. How could someone so full of life and as beautiful as his Darien really be gone? How could he fill the emptiness he felt in his heart?

How could his children live with no mother? How could he be there for his children, when he had to be there for his crew? They were a family also. What if something happened and the ship was in danger, how could he protect them, or protect his crew, if he was thinking of protecting his family on the ship? He suddenly knew that he must not take the children back to the ship.

The Navy seals were cleaning up Norfolk and they now had the cure. The safest place would be here in the home they knew, where they had all their things, which they would never be able to take back to the ship. Here they could go outside and play and still be children, not on a Destroyer, where there would be only danger for them. He had promised the children that he would not leave them, that they would be together and he could not break that promise. He knew now, that he would have to give up his commission and resign from the Navy. There had to be things he could do for the cause here on land. Mike and his crew could go on without him. They would have to. He had a responsibility to these two children. The other crew members would not be able to have children on the ship, like their captain did. It was not fair to the crew.

That night, he got all of the family in the living room and he told them what he planned to do. His father was not happy, but he went to unpack the things they had put in the duffle bags. Sammy and Jed left the room. Ashley stood up and looked at her father in disbelief. She said, "Mommy would never have wanted you to leave your ship before the mission was accomplished. She would never have wanted you to give up"

Her father was astounded at what she said to him. He said, "Ashley".

She was not through yet. "Daddy, Sammy and I were so proud today, because it was you, our father who pulled the plan together, who commanded that doctors and scientist be sent out in the jets to the various bases and laboratories to save the people of the United States and even the world from the virus. The mission is not finished, daddy. It is only beginning. How do you think it makes us feel, that you are abandoning your duty because of us? Do you want us to live with the guilt of knowing that you stayed with us, rather than continuing to do what you do best, daddy? There is no one out there who can lead them the way you can. How many lives will be lost because you stayed with us, daddy? Don't do this, please. We won't hold you to your promise. Mommy would never want you to do this. You know she wouldn't!"

He couldn't believe the passion his little Ashley put into her tirade. She was standing there with tears running down her face. He held his arms open to her and she ran to him and he took her into his arms as he held her on his lap. She placed her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her back, soothingly as he had when she was a much smaller child. He had not realized how much she had grown and how wise she had become. He saw Darien in her and he also saw himself. He knew he would have to rethink what his plans were, but somehow he had to make sure they would be okay, if he left them here and about that, he was not yet sure.

He told her he would think about all that she had said and would make a decision tomorrow. He kissed her and sent her off to bed. He had a lot of thinking to do this night.

XXX

The next day, they were all working to get the house back in order so that they could live there. The Captain had put on his civilian work clothes. He was clearing the leaves and debris from his yard. He fixed the mailbox, though there would be no mail delivered and he put the flag out on the porch, proudly displayed. He looked at it and it reminded him of his pride in the Navy and his part in it. He looked down and started loading the bags of leaves into the trash cans. His father came out and accused him of procrastinating so he would not have to go back to the ship and tell them he was not coming back. His heart was not in it, though he told his father how his children needed him, now that Darien was gone.

His father told him that his ship and crew needed him more. He said, "You are Noah and that ship is your Ark."

He told him that he wasn't the first father who had trouble leaving his children behind, but the others had done it. He stated as Ashley had the night before that no one else could lead his crew the way he could. No one else could keep them steady and keep them safe. Finally he relented and when he left them that day, he was once again in his uniform ready to return to his ship and his command. He gave the children big hugs and his daughter, Ashley, at the very last, stood at attention and saluted her father. She let him know how proud of him they all were. It was a tearful goodbye, but they were all sure he was doing what he should be doing and what their mother would have wanted as well.

When he got back to the ship, he found that some of the crew members had found family members alive and some had not been so lucky. He had to help them deal with their losses. God knows he knew how it felt, personally, but he had to be strong for them. He had broad shoulders and he was their Captain. He would be there for them and they knew it.

There had been so much going on before he had gone out to take his family home, that he had barely had time to think about Rachel. He had known he would have to confront his own guilt feelings about leaving her at Avocet, but thank heaven she was safe when Tex found her, though she would not have been for long, knowing the lengths that Granderson would go to get what she wanted.

He had been aware, when she was speaking with her mentor in Florida, that Rachel was almost in tears, but so many other calls were coming in at the same time from their outbound inquiries to the secret numbers they had been trying to reach, that he had not had a chance to speak with her personally. She seemed totally occupied in getting the vaccine doses ready for shipment to the various areas and did not seem to want to make time for him. He worried that perhaps she was avoiding speaking with him personally for a reason.

Now that he had his family situated and off the ship, he knew he had to speak directly to Rachel. The bond they had developed before Baltimore was very special to him and he felt his responsibility to her very strongly, indeed. He needed something she had and he was sure she needed what he could give her of himself as well. The friendship and closeness they had shared was something he had never felt before and he missed it, like he would miss air to breathe.

Rachel had been aware that the Captain had taken his children and his father to find out about what was left of their house so they could pick up some things and come back to the Nathan James. She knew the Captain was letting his family have his quarters for the time being and was sleeping in his cabin off of the bridge. She had not had a chance to speak with him alone with all that was going on. She knew he must be having a time dealing with his family as well as all of the situations that were occurring on the ship and off, that he was in charge of, including setting up the distribution of the vaccine.

Still she missed how he used to pop into her lab at the oddest hours, day and night. She missed him, even though she dreaded when they would finally be able to speak privately. She did not know how that would go, now that he had lost his wife. He must be devastated, though he was holding up well from what he was showing to the crew. Still she knew how much he loved his wife and how much pain he must be in now. Maybe he was not speaking to her personally for a reason. She felt guilt for his loss. If only she could have found the cure faster, he might have been able to save his wife. She remembered during the trials, when she was totally panicked and was stumped, until she finally figured it out. It was so clear once the solution had come to her. She remembered she had said, "How could I have not seen this sooner.?"

She had been working all day and she ran her fingers over her eyes. What she wouldn't give for a cup of tea. She went to the wardroom and made a cup of tea for herself. It was quite late and there was no one around. The lights were dimmed and she sat down at one of the corner tables and let her mind unwind a bit. She had not noticed that there was another person also sitting in the shadows at the other end of the room, watching her, his coffee mug still in his right hand. Rachel just sat there and she suddenly felt so alone. She really missed Quincy and Kelly and even Ava. She still had Bertrice who had popped in and there was Dr. Rios. Then she said to herself, "Why do I keep lying to myself? It is really him that I miss, with all my heart. Only he can bring me the solace that I crave, but maybe he can't bring himself to speak to me, with all he has been through and all of his responsibilities. How can I be important to him, except in my professional capacity? Oh God, I miss him. I miss him so much."

The tears came to her eyes and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and scolded herself for this self indulgence. He had so many other things keeping him busy. Was it any wonder that he did not have time for her in his life right now? He had just lost his wife. A wave of guilt racked her at that thought and a soft sob escaped her and she could not help it.

Suddenly out of the darkness from the other side of the room, she heard his voice, softly and full of concern for her, "Rachel, what is it? Why are you crying?"

She saw him emerge from the shadows and move forward toward her, coffee mug still in his right hand. She said, "Captain, have you just been sitting there in the shadows watching me, without saying a word? I know you have not wanted to speak to me and I can't blame you for that. I guess you were just going to let me sit here, all by myself, until I finished my tea and I left the room."

He came to the table and sat down, looking directly at her, his piercing blue eyes locked with her own, filled with great concern. "Rachel, I was so guilt ridden about leaving you at Avocet, while I went looking for my family without giving you a second thought. You were in such danger. I went back to find you as soon as I realized what danger you were in, but Tex had already found you. I have not been able to get over the fact that I left you in such a vulnerable position."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "But, you are crying, Rachel. What is it? You know you can talk to me. Please let me help you, if you can ever trust me again."

Rachel was completely taken aback by what he was saying. Trying to control her tears, with little success, she said, "Tom, no, none of us blame you for what happened. Everyone was fooled by Granderson, even Alisha, her own daughter. You could not have known what she was really after and what she was capable of. I am so happy that you found your family, but I completely blame myself for the loss of your wife. If only I could have made the vaccine sooner. I really tried Tom, but I know how much she meant to you. I am so sorry, Tom. I don't blame you for not being able to talk to me. I am only a reminder of why you were not in time to save her."

She started to sob again. Tom took her by her shoulders and pulled her into a position facing him head on. He said, "Listen to me Rachel. I don't blame you for any of this. You did everything as fast as you could. It was not your fault. The wrong decisions were mine. I am glad that you don't hold me in contempt for putting you and my crew in danger, while I got my family to safety, but I will have to live with that. I felt so much guilt that I was afraid you really did not want to speak with me. That is why I said nothing so you would not feel you had to speak with me now, until I heard you crying and I had to say something to try to comfort you, to find out why you were crying."

She laughed, "Oh, Tom, I thought you did not want to speak with me and you thought I didn't want to speak with you. The reason I was crying was because I missed you personally. I was trying to give you time to deal with your grief about Darien, but I so needed to talk with you, to let you know how sorry I was and because ...because we had grown to have such a close friendship. We each helped the other deal with every crisis involving the cure. We have a bond, Tom. I don't know what it is, but I missed you so much. I didn't want to lose what we have developed, a kind of mutual support of each other. We could always talk and share our thoughts with each other and it has been like you have shut me out. God knows what you have had to deal with the loss of your wife. I understand that and with having your children on the ship. I can't even imagine how many directions you are being pulled. I was very selfish to miss you and want you to have time to speak with me, but I did miss you. That is all it was, self-pity and I am very ashamed. I gave into it in a moment of weakness. Please forgive me for even bringing it up."

He looked deeply into her eyes, eyes that were meant only for her with no distractions. "Rachel, I too missed speaking with you and sharing what you were feeling. I know you spoke with your mentor in Florida. I was afraid he would want you to come to work with him in Florida and I did not want to be away from you, because of the very bond you say we have together. You seemed so happy to hear from him. You were in tears. I could not speak with you about it because I thought you did not want to speak with me, but thank God we have it out in the open. We can speak with each other again. Please, know that you can always come to me. I know I have been very busy, but I will always find time for you, even if we speak late at night, as we are tonight. God knows I have needed to speak with you about my children and other things. I took my children home and I am going to leave them there with their grandfather. It is not safe on the Nathan James for children and it is unfair for me to have my children aboard and the rest of the crew cannot have their families on board. My own daughter told me in so many words that she wanted me to leave them and go back to my ship where I was to complete the mission, rather than staying with them here in Norfolk. She actually told me that Darien would not have wanted me leave before my mission was completed, even to be with them. Can you believe that, Rachel? My little girl was giving me hell about even thinking of staying with my family. She actually saluted me when I left to come back here today."

Rachel said, "Yes, I barely had time to speak with your kids and your father, but from what you are telling me about Ashley, she is her father's daughter and she is probably just as smart as you are. She can assess the situation and sees that this is where you belong for the good of this ship and for what is coming in the future. These people need you and God knows I need you, as well."

He placed his hand on her arm and said, "Rachel, I am trying to work through my losses as I know you are and we will have new challenges probably every day. Now that we are clear on why we have not really spoken much to each other over the last week or so, we can see how much we need to communicate with each other on a regular basis. Everything is alright between us, so let us make sure that we start talking to each other, like we used to do. I know that many things are different and we have things to work through, but as long as we can talk things out, we will be alright. What do you say, Rachel"

She said greatly relieved," I say yes, Tom. Please come to my lab like you used to do, even if it is late. Lets have tea and coffee together sometimes and I will come to you when I need to talk. I know we will be busier than we were before, but let us not lose our close bond. We will help each other get through what lies ahead.

He said, "Rachel, I also want you to know, I would never shut you out. If ever you feel like I am, let me know it. You have done it before. I care about you, Rachel and I would never hurt you intentionally. Remember that."

They left each other and each felt such genuine relief and happiness knowing they had not lost that special bond that they had developed. Whatever that relationship was, be it as best friends, in a sense, or as confidants. Anything more than that, at this moment in time, was more than Tom could deal with. He was still grieving for Darien and that hurt would not leave him any time soon. Time would tell what his relationship with Rachel would be in the future, but for now, he knew for sure that he was where he should be, as was Rachel. To know that she was there for him and he was there for her meant more than words could convey to both of them.

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This will be a multi chapter story, so by all means, please let me know with a review if you like it. It means so much to us writers to know what all of our loyal readers think about how we are writing about their favorite characters.


	2. A Time for Tears A Time for Hope

Chapter 2 A time for Tears, A time for Hope

The Captain was standing at his seat on the bridge, holding Sammy's baseball in his hand, turning it over and over, looking at the writing on the ball. This had been the deployment gift Sammy had given him when he left his children behind at their home in Norfolk, with their grandfather. This was one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. The ache he felt in his gut felt like it would never leave him. A part of him felt dead inside with Darien gone. He looked over at Mike talking to another officer on the bridge in an animated way and he himself felt no connection to it. This was not like him at all. He was always aware and engaged in whatever was going on. He realized in some distant part of his reasoning brain, that part of him was in shock and he needed to shake himself out of the stupor he was in. He could do it. He could throw himself into action. He would not give into this grief.

Shortly after this, word came in regarding the Hospital Ship, the USS Solace. They realized that the missing lab from Norfolk had taken to the sea in this huge ship, two weeks ago, with everything and everyone necessary to mass produce the cure for distribution. The Solace was obviously waiting for them to come to them with the cure. Doctor Scott was excited and the Captain actually smiled at her and at Mike, saying "We're getting another ship."

The Captain was completely involved in giving orders to find the Solace and to get his team of Navy seals and the two new additions to the team, Ravit and Wolf, briefed on where the lab area would be on this ship. The Captain himself would go with them when they found the ship.

After a few hours, they located the ship but could not get a response to any of their broadcasts to her. That made them fear that perhaps those aboard had somehow been exposed to the virus and were probably dead or dying. If they could get to them in time with the vaccine, they might be able to save some of them. The teams and the Captain were sent out on a Rhib. Once aboard, however, they ran into a number of hostile forces, an experienced military force . They had destroyed the lab and had killed most of the doctors. They had also rigged the ship to blow up, but thanks to Ravit and Tex, the bomb was gotten off the ship just in time. Unfortunately about 8 or 9 of the hostiles were able to jump ship and got away under water. It seems they had stashed a number of 2 man subs underwater to facilitate their escape from the Solace. A submarine was actually waiting for them, a distance away from the location of the Solace. The Nathan James knew there was a sub, but did not know where it was. They had to find it. It could not stay hidden for ever.

The surviving doctors from the Solace were taken back to the Nathan James and the injured were taken to sick bay. The head doctor on that ship, Dr. Milowksi, asked if he could stay on the Nathan James, rather than returning with the others to Norfolk, with enough of the cure to start helping to distribute it. The Captain agreed to have Dr. Milowski stay because he was an expert in genetic engineering and in mass production of vaccines. Rachel needed someone to replace Quincy and they welcomed his presence. Rachel continued to help with the wounded as did Dr. Rios and Dr. Milowski.

She gave a sigh of relief when she looked at Tom and could see he was not injured. She was petrified that Captain Chandler would be wounded or killed from the moment she heard what was coming in from the communications from the Solace. She never understood why he had to risk himself like this. You would think after he was captured by the Russians and almost killed that he would have learned to send someone else. He was too valuable, but unfortunately he was calling the shots. She had noticed that the Captain was not himself before they became involved in the action on the Solace. Now, he seemed completely sharp and involved in every aspect of the plan and coordination of action as was his usual mode of operation. She could see that he needed this action and he thrived on carrying out a mission and in this case rapidly developing new missions, one on top of the other. That is the way their lives had been since the Captain and his crew had been notified of the true mission of the Nathan James, which was still very much in play. It was now their mission to get the cure to all of the waiting labs in the US and in the world and to help them get up and running and to find a way to distribute this vaccine.

They had captured one member of the hostile group but he was very seriously injured and they still needed to find out what this group wanted and why they had destroyed the lab and the doctors who would have been making the cure. They wondered if this had anything to do with the destroyed lab at Ft. Dietrich.

The ship was on high alert. They did not know where that sub was, but they knew they had to find it as well as stay away from its torpedoes. The sonar was working overtime.

The Captain looked at Rachel and said softly to her. "Rachel, be sure and get some rest. We will have a lot of work to do. I know you will need time train Dr. Milowsky, but it sounds like he is familiar with what to do."

She said, "Tom, you look like you haven't slept in a week. Try to get some sleep yourself."

He gave her a grim smile and said, "I will Rachel, don't worry about me. I will be okay."

Of course, neither of them had a chance to get any rest, with all that was going on. When the Captain finally went to his stateroom, he took off his uniform and put on sweatpants and a t-shirt. He sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. His head was full of what had gone on today and all the death he had seen and caused. He knew they had saved many, but they were attacked because someone was looking for what they had. He went to his sink and washed his face with soap and water. He wiped his face with a towel and felt better, but he was still too keyed to sleep. It was very late. There would probably be no one in the exercise room. That is what he needed. It was after midnight. If he could do some strenuous exercise, maybe he could make himself too tired to think about what else was bothering him. He knew he needed to work off some of this.

He grabbed a towel and headed down the P-way, which was deserted.

XXXXX

Rachel had been working non stop trying to give Dr Wilowski an update on what they had been doing. It was all very technical, but he seemed to be up on it. He, himself had an incredible day, having lost so many of his colleagues and friends on this fateful day. He was also checking on his wounded. The Captain had gotten him assigned to a stateroom shared with an officer. Rachel was taking him around to the wardroom and making sure he knew where the showers were located. It looked like she could work well with him, if he would follow her orders. He seemed like a person who was used to having his orders followed rather than following other people, but he had asked to help and if he was going to help, he would need to follow her orders.

Rachel finally said goodnight to him and took herself to her own stateroom. She fell on the bed, exhausted, but she was far too keyed up to sleep. She changed into a fresh tank top and some sweat pants. What she needed was a good run on the treadmill and then she would take a shower and that would relax her. At this time of night, she was sure that no one would be in the exercise room. She grabbed a towel and headed down the P-way.

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The Captain had found the exercise room deserted just as he thought he would. He was relieved. The crew was not usually comfortable exercising with their Captain and he tried to go at off hours, so he was used to exercising alone. He had used the weights and he had done some running on the treadmill and as he ran he started thinking about Darien and the children, about how he had found the children, but not his Darien. He relived how he had not found her in time and suddenly he was so angry. He could feel it ready to explode out of his chest from deep inside of him. He suddenly wanted to punch a hole through the wall. He jumped off the treadmill and went to the punching bag and started hitting it with his bare fist. Again and again, he hit the bag with his fists which were beginning to get bloody and bruised. Tears ran down his cheeks and his chest convulsed as he tried to hold in the pain. He was crying, silently at first and then when he could no longer hold it inside, he was sobbing, racking sobs, full of loss, hurt and anger. The agony within him was so great that he barely felt the pain in his hands.

Rachel walked into the exercise room and saw him at the punching bag, his hands all bloody hitting it again and again as racking sobs rocked his body.

She closed the door and ran to his side saying, "Oh Tom, I'm so sorry."

When he heard her, he stopped punching the bag and just held on to it as he rested his forehead on it.

When she reached him, she held out her arms and said, "Come here. Tom."

He looked into her eyes, with such pain, that it was almost more than she could bear to see him hurting like this. He went into her arms and she held him close, his head falling to her neck. He said, still sobbing "They were alive, Rachel. They were all alive. She wasn't supposed to die. You gave me the cure. Oh God, I was too late. I waited too long, Rachel. I can't believe she is gone. It was my fault, Rachel. It was my fault. Oh, God damn it, Rachel, why didn't I get to her in time? I loved her, I loved her so much."

Rachel held him and said, "Tom, you saved your children and your father. You were not too late to save them. It was not your fault, Tom. You told me it wasn't my fault, well it isn't yours either. You have saved so many people with all you and your crew have done to get this vaccine out. I know you are angry, but don't be angry at yourself. It is good that you are getting this out. Now you need to let it go. There is a time for tears. We all need that, but there is also a time for hope and action. We have so much more to do. You do not have the luxury of blaming yourself. You need to let that go right now, do you hear me, Captain?

He was getting a hold on himself and pulling himself out of her arms. He said, "I'm sorry, Rachel, I don't know what happened. I just kind of lost it. I am sorry you saw this. I did not think I would see anyone down here this late."

She said, "Tom, Do not be sorry. You may not realize this, but you needed to get all that grief out. Now we are going to go to your quarters and I am going to get your hands cleaned up and bandaged. Come on."

They walked to his quarters and they both stepped inside. She got him to wash his hands with soap and water. She made a quick trip to the sick bay and she got bacterial ointment and some bandages. She had him sit on his couch and she put ointment on his out stretched knuckles as she placed his hands in her lap on a towel. His hands were hurting now. She wrapped his knuckles. She knew there would be talk about how he had hurt his hands, but she told him to tell them that he had been a bit over zealous with the punching bag, if anyone dared to ask him. Most of the crew would say nothing about it.

Rachel could see that he was done in, but he had needed to get some of this emotional hurt out and he had done that, even though his poor hands had taken the brunt of it. For those who had lost members of their family, things were not so good on the Nathan James. There had been no place to talk about their loved ones, no place to talk about what they had meant to them. None of them had any closure. Tom did not have a service or a burial, someplace where he could say out loud the things he would like to say about Darien. She said, "Tom, do you want to talk about Darien? I want you to tell me everything you would have said at a service for Darien. Do you think you can do that, Tom. Would you like to tell me about her?"

He managed to do just that. He told her all about the Darien that he loved, the mother of his children, the woman he loved for all of these years. His eyes misted with tears, but he had gotten over the racking sobs in the exercise room. She knew that he had really needed that and it had done him good, even though he had done a real job on his knuckles. After he was silent, she realized that he was much calmer about the whole thing. She looked at him and they locked eyes. She put her hand on his arm and said, Tom, do you think you can sleep now or do you want me to stay with you a little longer?"

He looked a bit sheepish. He put his hand on top of her hand and said, "Rachel, thank you for being here for me. There was no one else I could have shared it with. Many of my people have lost loved ones. I am not the only one. When we get more settled, I need to see if we can have memorial services. Things are too raw right now and we are under attack alert. We just have to carry on. He said, "Rachel, I can sleep now and you go back to your cabin and get some rest, yourself."

Rachel squeezed his arm, stood up and left him. She wished she could have given him more comfort. She realized again how she much she loved this man and part of that love came from the fact that he had always remained loyal to Darien. She loved his the honor in this man and the respect and love that he held for his family. For now, she could only be his friend, but she longed for a deeper relationship with him. She did not know when or if he would ever be able to really love again, but she prayed that with time, he would be able to see her in that light. Now was not the time to think about such things. They had lives to save and work to do.

XXXXX

Please be sure to leave me a short review and let me know if you would like me to continue this story. If you are not familiar with my first story from Season 1, please read "Their Little Secret", which begins right after the 8th episode, in which the Captain and Tex were captured by the Russians and taken to their ship. After their safe return, some very interesting things happen between Rachel and the Captain. Enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3 New Challenge

Chapter 3 New Challenge

The next morning, Tom awakened when his alarm rang and he just lay there for a couple of minutes, knowing he had to be up soon. He did his usual morning ritual of shower and shaving and got into uniform. None of this was easy to do with his hands in the condition they were in. He had to take the wet bandages off and the look of his knuckles was not good. He mentally chastised himself for how he had thoughtlessly injured himself. He did notice how much better he felt emotionally. It was almost like he had to make himself feel real pain so he could get through the emotional pain. He did not have a problem with handling a battle situation and functioning at his peak, but he had not been doing very well, being able to function normally on a day to day basis, since he had returned from Norfolk. Now, even with his hands in a mess, he knew he could function just fine. It was a new day and he was ready for it. Just as he was ready to leave his quarters to head to the wardroom, there was knocking at his door. He opened it to find Dr. Scott standing in the P-way, holding her medical kit.

He said, "Rachel, what are you doing here so early. I thought you would be in sickbay."

She said, "Well, Captain, I see it is just as I thought. After you took your shower and shaved, your bandages would be all wet and knowing you, you would not have come to me to put new bandages on your hands, you would have just continued with business as usual."

His eyebrow went up and there as a little hint of humor in his crooked smile as he stepped back and allowed her to enter his quarters. She said, "Now sit down on the couch, Captain. I am going to bandage your hands again before you head up to the wardroom. We don't need for our Captain to get an infection. You will need these bandages changed until there is no more broken skin. Is that clear, Captain?"

He locked eyes with hers and said smiling slightly, "Yes, ma'am, Dr. Scott."

She looked into his ocean blues and her heart skipped a beat. She wished he didn't always have that effect on her. She looked deep into his eyes and saw that he did not have that blank far away look she had seen since he returned from Baltimore and Norfolk. His eyes were still sad, but they were clear. She knew that what had happened last night needed to happen and she was so grateful that she had found him and had been able to be there for him. Their brave Captain needed the human touch and not just any human touch. He had needed her. No one in the military could have given him what he needed last night.

After she had completed her task and he was good to go to the bridge, she was getting her kit packed up. He watched her silently and then he instinctively took her hand and held it in his both of his own. He looked deep into her eyes and said, "Rachel, I want to thank you for what you did last night. I thought I could handle it alone. I knew I had to get out of that stupor I was in. It was like I wasn't feeling anything, except for when I was in battle mode. Then I was fine. I could turn off the other thoughts. But then, when I had time to think about Darien and leaving the kids behind, it was like I was in a fog bank. I had to make myself feel and when I let myself feel, I could not handle the anger and the guilt. That is why, right or wrong, I had to do something. I could not seem to get it out any other way. But doing it alone wasn't enough, I needed…...I needed…."

She stopped him, "You needed someone else, Tom. You needed someone to be there for you, to help you through this."

He lowered his head nodding and then looked back up at her. "Yes, Rachel and you were suddenly there, in the middle of the night, in the gym for Pete's sake. How in the world could you have been there for me, in exactly that place, at exactly that time, when I had come to the end of my rope, when I had nowhere else to turn? Somehow, Rachel, we do seem to be linked, bonded to one another in some strange way. I have been there for you and you have been there for me at some of the roughest times of our lives, the Vyernie, the trials, Baltimore and now. I don't know what to call what we have, Rachel, but I am in no shape to sort it out now. I do know one thing for certain. I do not want to lose what we have, Rachel."

Rachel said, "Tom, I feel the same way, No matter what happens after this, I don't want to lose our friendship. You don't know how many times your strength has helped me continue on, even when I thought I was failing in finding the cure. You were always there. I have missed your presence lately, with all you and I both have to do in the present situation. I want you to know that it has not changed anything. I still want us to have our bond. When the chips are down, we can still be there for each other. Whatever the future might bring, please know I am still here for you, and I hope you are for me as well."

Tom said, "You have my word on it, Rachel."

XXXXXXX

"Captain on the bridge," was heard as he stepped onto the bridge. Mike walked over to him, eyeing his bandaged hands. "God, Tom, What happened to your hands?"

Tom looked down and said, "I got just a little overzealous with the punching bag, last night. Dr. Scott bandaged my hands."

"She must have thought you got into a fight with a bear, when you went to her quarters." Mike quipped.

Tom said quickly. "I didn't go to her quarters, Mike. She found me, when she went to the gym to workout, herself."

Mike looked closely at the Captain. "You had a pretty rough time of it, last night, didn't you, Tom?"

Tom looked down and nodded. He then looked up and locked eyes with his XO. "Mike, I have a handle on it now. I am much better now. My hands are a bit messed up, but they will be fine in a day or two."

Mike nodded his understanding. The Captain said, "Now Mike, we have some important things to discuss. How is our prisoner and what is the word on the sub?"

A few had overheard the Captain's explanation to Mike, but they understood clearly what had happened and nothing more was said. Out of respect for their Captain, they did not say anything more about it except among themselves. All of the crew knew the Captain had lost his wife and they all felt for him, many of them, knowing first hand what he was going through. The crew was relieved to see him bounce back when things were getting rough on the ship and with what the Nathan James was up against with this new threat, but they also knew how hard it was to leave his children behind.

XXXX

From the point the Captain came up to the bridge, it was almost non stop action. Mike had gone to sickbay to interrogate the prisoner from the sub. The whole ship was on silent running and no one was making a sound. Mike kept the Captain briefed on what their prisoner was saying, but, in the mean time, their ship was attacked by the sub sending 4 torpedoes, while the Nathan James under the Captain's orders, counter attacked with the Helo, dropping torpedoes themselves. The sub dived to escape the torpedoes from the Nathan James. Thanks to the Captains strategy, the Nathan James managed to escape, just barely, from all 4 torpedoes that the sub had fired on them.

The sub then surfaced too far away for them to see them and they suddenly fired off almost simultaneously, 26 ICBMs, trying to destroy all of the special labs. In response, the Captain ordered the Nathan James to fire on as many of the ICBMs as they could, but, as it turned out only two actually were stopped. The others fell short of their mark because they were already out of range when the Nathan James fired. Next, all of the ship's communications were used to try to warn all of the labs to abandon their labs immediately and to get as far away as possible, because they would be under attack within minutes. The crew of the Nathan James had no way of knowing if any of the personnel from those labs had been able to escape the attack. They were hoping some of the ICBM's were not long enough range to reach some of the labs, but they did not have much hope of that being the case. They did not know if they reached any of the labs in time or not.

The sub seemed to have left them for now, but the prisoner had confessed he was like all of the people on that sub and that the people like him had taken over Europe. They all knew the Nathan James was up against a new threat, one they did not understand yet. By the end of the day, any doubts the crew may have had in their Captain, were completely alleviated. They all had the utmost confidence in his judgment. His strategy had been brilliant and they were still intact, because of it.

XXXX

The Captain had gone to his quarters and had just finished a conversation with his family and they had had seen an ICBM across the horizon, but so far they were unaffected. His father said that they would be on alert in case they needed to evacuate and get to safety in another location. At the end of the conversation, the Captain's father spoke to him in the same voice he used when he was a high ranking officer in the Army, when giving orders to the Pentagon. He said," Tom, don't worry about anything here. I will carry on and make the decision to evacuate should the situation warrant it. You just continue with your mission, Tom, you carry on there and don't stop until you finish it!"

Tom said, "Yes, Sir! "

Tom said this with the respect he would have given the higher ranking officer his father was. He himself was never more proud of his father, than he at this moment.

He switched off the monitor and was ready to turn in, when there was a knock at his door. He said, "Come."

Rachel entered his quarters. She had her medical kit. She said, I needed to speak with you Captain, I have figured out what we are up against with the sub and with that group that seems to want the cure. Captain, it is not that they want or need the cure. They are all naturally immune to the virus. I checked our prisoner's blood against Beatrice's blood and they are like her, naturally immune. It seems that there are a lot more people who are naturally immune, than we at first thought. I figure they are about 1-5 percent of the total remaining population as a whole. There seems to be a large group of people, who are all naturally immune, who seem to be trying to destroy the cure."

The Captain said, "That is how they took over Europe. They were the only ones still alive. We have to try to get to those labs and warn them of this danger. There must be a very large number of them who have organized, not just a sub."

Rachel said, "Tom, please we need to get to them right away, before these crazy people get them."

He immediately called the bridge and ordered the ship to head south toward Florida.

Rachel touched Tom's arms, thanking him on behalf of her mentor who she adored. She was almost in tears thinking of him. He had been like a father to her. She was so looking forward to seeing him again. Tom said, "Rachel, I will do everything I can to get you to him and that lab. We will try again to make contact tomorrow, but the lab may not be standing. The only thing we can hope for is that those ICBM's were not in range or that the coordinates might have been off."

She got control of herself and then said, "Thank you Tom. Now, let me see how your hands are doing."

He said, "Rachel, never mind about that. I will take care of my hands. We really have no time to waste on them now."

She said, "On the contrary, Captain, Now, sit down and hold out your hands."

Rachel could not stand the idea of leaving him, now that she was actually alone with him. She so needed him. She wasn't sure if he needed her at this moment. He certainly had last night, but a lot had happened since then and he was acting normally now. He let her take the bandages off, but stopped her from putting more on. He said, starting to have an edge on his voice, "Rachel, the skin is no longer broken and they are just bruised. Please, don't put more bandages on. I feel ridiculous enough having bandages on for something I did to myself. Just let it go for god's sake!

I just need some time to digest and think about what you just said. I need to talk to Mike and to the Master Chief. I need you to explain to them what you just said to me and any other insight you may have about these people. Will you come to the wardroom with me now, Rachel?"

Well she could see he was back to his normal for now. At first he acts like he doesn't need her and then suddenly he turned everything on its ear and wanted her to be in on a strategy meeting with his own special officers and he wanted her insight. He could turn what was important to him on a dime, when it came to the safety and well being of the crew of the Nathan James and she was a part of that, she knew. His own personal needs and even hers would have to wait. There were other things more important than their relationship or their comfort now.

She wanted to be around him in whatever capacity she could and if she could be of use strategically, she was up for that. She had a brain in her head and she had figured out what the secret of these people might be and she was right. Of course, she could be of use to him. This way she could be around him. She needed to be around him, to touch him, even for a short time, even if it was only with a word here and there, her opinion, an idea, or whatever way she could be of help. She wanted for them to be a team again. She had found the cure, but now there were different challenges. He needed her skills in other areas and she would be ready to get into new territory if necessary. Her mind started working and she started getting excited about how she could contribute to these new challenges. She knew that she would be able to think up some new ideas. She did not know how she was so sure, but she would do it she swore.

The Captain called Mike and Jetter and he and Rachel met with them in the Wardroom. They had to be ready for what they might find when they arrived at these labs.

Rachel was working with him directly again and he felt confident of what she said. He needed her on his team again. She had been there regarding the hospital ship and the labs and she still was, but he had an idea she would be contributing in some other areas just as she had helped to solve this mystery. Now that they were beginning to get an idea of what these people wanted and what they wanted to destroy and why, it changed their perspective on everything.

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Note: Hope you like the story up to now. Please write reviews in the box below and let me know. Hopefully we will have more exciting scenes with Rachel and Tom and we can go into more detail.

It you are starving for Rachel and Tom and if you have not yet read my first story, "Their Little Secret", It has lots of Tom/Rachel in it, though after Baltimore, it goes a little Alternative Universe. So far that story is also up for you to read. The first chapter involves how the Captain accidently gave Dr. Scott a black eye, after they returned from the Vyernie. This really ties in with the fact that we find out that the Captain was a Navy Seal, before he became a Captain. Hope you all enjoy that story as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

So much had been happening on board the Nathan James which was now a floating White House, temporary home of the Commander and Chief, the President of the United States as well as the hope of the world. The Nathan James had captured also Patient 0, Neil Sorensen, who had subsequently been killed by Dr. Rachel Scott. Through his death, she had discovered another form of the cure, which could become contagious and be spread like a cold virus.

The Captain had been obligated by the Navy code that he had to follow as the Commander of the Nathan James, to find out who had murdered Niels Sorensen. There had to be an investigation and all evidence pointed to Rachel. He had gotten her to admit what she had done in a fiery discourse that he had with her in the wardroom. He could not believe she had actually killed Sorenson in such a brutal way. He had been so angry at her for breaking the trust he had in her that he ended up yelling at her at the top of his lungs, so that some of their heated exchange was heard by certain crew members standing on guard outside the door. It was not long before the whole ship knew of their argument, because she had been sharp in her retort, though what the Captain said was what they could report, as Rachel's voice was not as powerful as his. It was clear they were having a very serious disagreement.

The crew had been aware of when they had spats before, but nothing like this. The crew had begun to think of the two of them as a close nit team with a bond that had become part of the strength of the whole ship. They had always worked together He had let his temper get the best of him and with all the other concerns he had on his plate, he had been very angry and had to think about what his duty required him to do, after her admission.

The crew could not help noticing how the Captain avoided making eye contact with Dr. Scott, how he turned away if he saw her coming his way. This was very unsettling to them in a strange way. In a funny way, it was as if poppa was roaring mad at mamma and that they were ready to split up and it made the whole ship very uneasy. It was not as if they were married, of course. Everyone knew how the loss of his wife had devastated the Captain, but the bond that he and Dr. Scott had on the ship was very strong as well and everyone knew it. All of this avoidance of each other, the investigations, his anger and her hurt was very hard to watch.

Now, even though he knew what he had to do, he could not see how he was going to do it. She was the hero, from the crew's point of view, yet the code was the code and it was set in stone. After he had prepared himself to be in his most official status to convey to her the rules of how she would be treated on the Nathan James from this point forward, it was not easy. He had to remind himself that she had broken the trust that he had in her. He did not see that he had any choice. He must treat her the way a murderer should be treated. He had to keep his crew firm in the knowledge that the Command staff was not going to let them think that they had ordered or condoned her action in taking Sorenson out.

He had summoned her to come, under guard to meet with him. He had attempted to be very formal, but could not keep from addressing her as Rachel, when it slipped out on its own, even though he was speaking with the coldness that the situation required. He explained the Naval Code and how he kept control of his ship by following that code to the letter. That Code is what was the backbone of the Navy and if he was to maintain order on the Nathan James, he had to give the crew the stability of knowing their Captain would always follow it. When he told her that she would not be allowed to go to the wardroom, the CIC or any common area of the ship, but would be only allowed to go to the lab and then back to her stateroom, the look on her face was utter shock and deep hurt that he could do this to her. She had not expected anything like this from him. She cried out his name, in shock, but he interrupted her, saying he had not finished. Then he put the nail in the coffin, by telling her that, because he did not have the authority to proceed in this matter that she would be turned over to the civil authorities at the first safe port they came to and she would pay for her crime.

When he finished this statement, she said to him, with a look of devastation in her eyes, "Tom, if this is what you want."

He looked into her eyes and he could feel the bile building up in his throat. "This has never been about what I wanted, Rachel!"

He straightened his chin to keep himself from weakening. He walked past her to the door, opened it and waited for her to leave the room. Her body was still facing forward and he was sure she was trying to collect herself to turn around. He could not even begin to imagine what she was feeling from this treatment from him. She turned and walked past him out of the room, without even looking at him. He was glad of that, because she might have seen the state he was in.

As soon as she left, he closed the door and stood there for a moment trying to get control of his emotions. He went to the sink. He looked at his face in the mirror, a mask of the pain he was feeling for what he had just done. He looked down at his hands and he was shaking. He put his face in his hands, trying without success to quell the nausea he was feeling. He had to splash his face with cold water.

He knew he had done the right thing, but his anger had been because she had broken his trust, He was disappointed that she was not who he thought her to be. He was also angry at her because he had to say to her what he had said and because he had to watch the pain in her face and eyes. He'd had to hurt her and he hated to hurt her. It was so much worse than he had imagined. He had to maintain the coldness, to be aloof as if he was not affected by it. God Damn it, he was effected, but he could not show it.

He had to remain strong and he needed to stay angry. He was angry, he reminded himself. She had put him in this situation and he did not need that with everything else that was happening. He had not realized until now what pain he was causing her and how much that had hurt her. The pain he had seen in her eyes and on her face cut him like a knife and that image of her, he could not get out of his mind. The guilt he felt for what he had just done to her, he could not let go of, but the worst part was that he was the one who had basically forced her to work with Sorensen the first place.

She actually found the presence of mind, even under those circumstances, to think straight enough to come up with this new type of cure, utilizing what she had found out about Niels. The truth was that she was amazing, as amazing as he had ever thought her to be and no matter what she had done, he knew he could not stop himself from caring about her, though today he knew he had done a very good job of convincing her otherwise. He could act cold and he certainly had. His anger had made him that way, as cold as ice, but his insides had rebelled, because his real feelings were totally different. He knew he could never turn her over to some authority and never see her again. He had to think of something, but for now, he just had to deal with what he was going on with the ship, the immunes, the President and the Sub. He could only handle what he had to handle right now.

XXXXX

The next few hours flew by and were filled with action. They would be meeting the group of civilian ships in New Orleans harbor. The flotilla was gathered and the Nathan James was preparing to bring the president to them to speak, but the sub had come back into play and planted explosives on the ships and then the whole flotilla had exploded into flames.

The sub had fired 4 torpedoes at the Nathan James. The sub was underneath the civilian Flotilla and the Nathan James was not able to fire back at them for fear of hitting the civilians. They were able to avoid 3 of the 4 Torpedoes, but the 4th was a direct hit on the Nathan James. Fortunately it was not a killer blow.

Much to the surprise of the Nathan James, another ploy of the Immunes was unveiled. They released a video superimposing the firing of the Nathan James guns to look like the Nathan James had fired on and destroyed the American Civilian Flotilla. The immunes were using a vast network called Valkyrie to put out fake information that the Navy ship was trying to destroy the civilian population and was helping to spread the virus. They also stated that the Nathan James had kidnapped the President of the United States.

XXX

The next day, early, The Captain went down to see Rachel regarding the cure. He stood in front of her, hands clasped behind his back, because she would not look him in the eyes at first. He asked her more about what she had injected herself with and if she had infected the whole crew with the cure. She told him, her present model would have to be injected as a booster shot to those already vaccinated with the original cure. Then they would be actually contagious for about 5-8 days. She suggested that they wait until they would be near a really populated area. He said "fine".

When he was preparing to leave, she said "Captain?"

He made himself turn back to her, but he was not ready to give up his anger at her and the coldness was still there. She took one look at him and was unable to speak. He saw this and turned and walked away. He could not do anything about the way he felt and he was going to have to keep it under wraps until he could figure someway out of this situation. He had too many other things to think about right now, including the crew of the Nathan James and the President.

With the help of Lt. Green's Cobra Team, who had taken a Rhib to try to help the survivors of the destruction of the flotilla, they were able to triangulate the location of the Valkyrie network. The Captain ordered a drone to fly over the area and discovered the network that was being uses to broadcast their videos, was located on a large oil rig offshore and out of sight of land.

The Captain, with Vulture team, including Burke, Wolf, Lt. Chung, Lt. Granderson and Ravit, boarded the oil rig. They had planned to take over the network and then use it themselves to convey the new video that the President had just done to debunk what the Immunes had already put out.

Once the Vulture Team boarded the oil rig, they were able to capture "Valkyrie", who turned out to be a young, very intelligent girl who had designed the vast worldwide network. The Captain tried to convince her about who they were and what they stood for, but she had been very much brainwashed by Sean. When she would not immediately help them, the Captain ordered the network torn down, so it could not be used by the Immunes any longer. Chung and Lt. Granderson started to do that. A large civilian fishing boat approached the oil rig, however and unexpectedly fired off an RPG, causing the death of 2 crew members and the loss of the Rhib. It also wounded Lt. Granderson and the Captain. Their prisoner, Val, took this opportunity to try to escape from them. The Captain ran after her, while Chung tried to help Lt. Granderson.

The Captain ended up saving Val's life, when the rig was hit by a second RPG. This one injured Chung who had helped Lt Granderson to safety. The first RPG had caused a gas leak on the main valve and when the second RPG hit, it almost immediately caused more explosions. Everyone had some injuries. Burke was burned and Ravit was very severely injured, as was Chung. The Helicopter took all the survivors from the oil rig back to the Nathan James, as well Tex who was injured in the fight with the civilians on land. Cobra team had come with their Rhib and managed to help get everyone except the 2 crew members Killed in Action, onto the helicopter.

XXXXX

The helicopter landed. The hanger was being used for emergency triage. All doctors and medical personnel had been called to be at the helo bay to meet them. Dr. Scott also rushed down the P-way to reach the helo bay.

There was utter pandemonium. Rachel looked for the Captain. She sighed in relief as she heard his voice yelling that Burk was burned. She saw him hunched over, helping a young girl, she did not know to a chair. She saw that Chung was being carried in on a stretcher as was Ravit. Burke was also hurt. She ran to Tex who said that he had been shot in the hip, but that it was not serious. Lt Granderson was almost in shock. The Captain yelled that Burke was burned. People were trying to help Burke onto a stretcher but he was screaming for Ravit, who seemed to be severely injured. All three doctors had their hands full. Lt. Granderson, who was practically in shock herself, was at Chung's side with Andrea. He was in very bad shape. The Captain had helped the young girl, Val, to a seat and had lied when some of his crew asked if he was alright. He told them he was fine, but he was not fine and had to sit down. He was watching Andrea with Chung and Lt. Granderson. He watched what was happening with Burke and with Ravit.

The Captain witnessed the last breath of Chung and he saw Andrea and she was beside herself with grief at his loss. He had to go to her, as she stood up, covering her face with her hands. The Captain stood and started walking toward her, to comfort her. His legs were not moving right underneath him. He felt like she was far away and he called to her. He said his nickname for her, "Eng"

She looked up, hearing him call to her. She took one look at him and realized something was very wrong with the Captain.

He said, "Eng…. I'm Sorry." Then he was falling, collapsing to the floor.

Andrea ran to him, screaming, "Dr. Scott….The Captain….Dr. Scott!"

Rachel was with him in a second, along with Dr. Rios. They turned him over onto his back and Rios thrust a pillow under his head. Rios screamed for a board. He yanked his bullet proof covering off and Rachel was ripping his already torn uniform jacket and undershirt, exposing his wounds. His abdomen was covered with blood. She yelled. "It looks like a shrapnel hit. He is bleeding internally."

Her breath caught in her throat, as she quickly assessed what she needed to do next.

Somehow, he had heard her voice and she heard him speak her name. She looked up at his face and her eyes met his for a second. He was barely conscious as she heard him say, softly," "Rachel…...Rachel…...I'm…."

She said breathlessly, "Tom, I am right here with you. I'm not going to leave you. Stay with me Tom."

"Get him on a board, now!" yelled Dr. Rios.

They lifted the Captain onto a board and Rachel reached for her instruments and glanced up at his face and saw that he was now unconscious. She managed to remove several pieces of shrapnel from his abdomen and to stop the bleeding, though she almost lost him, once. She was praying all the time as she knew Dr. Rios was also. He was so stubborn, that he did not tell anyone he was wounded. His wound was serious enough that he should have been one of the first to be treated. But no, he had to make sure every member of his crew was taken care of first or maybe he was in shock and didn't even know how bad it was. She only prayed they were not too late to save her brave Captain.

After she and Rios worked over him, she was able to stabilize him, though she would not know if she got all of the shrapnel until they scanned him with the sonogram. They needed to get him to sick bay. He was still unconscious.

She gave Mike the report on his condition, while he lay on the stretcher a few feet away. Mike

Placed his hand on her forearm and looked into her eyes. He said, "How long will he be unconscious, Rachel?"

Rachel looked back at him, her eyes full of concern. "It is hard to tell, Mike. I need to get him to sickbay, so we can use the sonogram."

Mike said, "Will you go with him, Rachel?"

She looked at Mike and she did not bother to hide the love in her eyes. "I will never leave his side, Mike. You have my word on it."

Unfortunately, Ravit did not make it. Burke and Wolf were devastated.

XXXX

After Rachel got him to sick bay and used the sonogram on the Captain, she saw that she would still need to operate. There was another piece of shrapnel behind his liver. After he had regained consciousness, she was putting bandages on his wounds and he was feeling the pain. He groaned, saying "Yes, that is the spot", as if she was doing it on purpose.

She quipped, "I am sorry I am hurting you, Tom, but I am just trying to keep you from bleeding to death."

She did not want to hurt him but it could not be helped. He asked about Ravit and was very upset when Rachel shook her head. He said "Rachel, I lost 4 sailors."

She said, "You could have been the 5th, Captain. It was touch and go, there for a while."

He looked into her eyes and saw the truth of what she just said to him. He suddenly realized that she had just saved his life.

She said, "And I am not finished yet, I still have to operate to get that souvenir I found hidden behind your liver."

He said "not now, it will have to wait. I am not going under."

She said, "This cannot wait, Tom. The piece can move and cut you."

He said, "Not now, Rachel."

She said, "As stubborn as ever."

"Said the kettle to the pot", he quipped back.

She turned away, putting her bandages away, He said, "Rachel?"

She turned back to him, looking deep into his cerulean blue eyes. "Thank you", he said.

She smiled, "You see, I can still use my powers for good."

She reached out and touched his strong jaw, lightly brushing her hand, along its curve. She could not help herself.

He took the hand which was caressing his jaw. She thought he was going to toss it away from him, but instead he took it gently and pressed it tenderly to his lips. He held his lips to her hand for a while. "Rachel. I have to tell you, that even after all that has happened, I care for you greatly. I have not been able to stop caring for you."

Rachel said, "I care about you also Tom. I would never knowingly disrespect you. I am so sorry that I did manage to do just that."

He said, "Rachel, I am sorry that I asked you to work with him. It was too much to ask anyone, who has lost as much as you."

"Tom, you do not know what I had to do to get him to agree to give me the sequence." she said almost hesitantly, unsure she should say anything.

Tom frowned suddenly almost losing his concentration. "God Rachel, what are you trying to tell me? What did he want from you?" he said.

"What do you think he wanted, Tom?" she said with emphasis.

He said, "Oh no, Rachel, you didn't?"

"No I didn't but I had to make him think I might, "

He said, "Oh, my God, Rachel, How?"

She said, "Tom, I can only tell you it I hated every moment of pretending to flirt with him. I hated it! Do you hear me, Tom? I hated it. I did, however, get the answer from him because I would not actually do anything with him. I could never have done that. You do not know how much I hated doing any of it, to be with him even a second. It was so vile, even being in the same room. I would have killed myself before I would have been with him that way. That is how much I hated him. I had to have the secret from him, however. The whole world will be better off, but, God forgive me, he had to die. God, Tom, I am only human. To think of what he wanted me to do for it and what he thought I would be willing to do, after he gave it to me."

She could not go on.

Suddenly, Tom realized why she did not think and use her rational thought about killing a human being, because to her, he was like killing a poisonous snake or spider, something that had threatened to take part of her for himself. She wasn't exactly reasonable. He would have killed the SOB himself, if he had known what he had wanted to force her to do for giving her the sequence she needed. Now that he knew the whole story or most of it, He thought he could get her pardoned by the president. After all she had done today. He has seen her with each injured person, He knew now that he probably would not have survived without her.

He said, "Rachel, I am sorry. Why did you not tell me this before?"

She said," Tom, you were not into hearing more about it at first. You were really only thinking of your ship and just how you could handle it. You had enough on your plate. Let's just let go of this tonight. You wanted to go to the memorial service. Be careful and come right back after- ward. I need to get that shrapnel out of you. I am not kidding. Please, Tom, I don't want to lose you."

He said, "You will not lose me, Rachel, not this time. I am going to have another talk with the President. There may be a way."

Rachel helped him up and called a crew member to go with him and to bring him back, though she knew he might not obey her in this. God, he was so stubborn. She wanted to go with him herself, but she knew she was not strong enough to catch him, if he fell.

She remembered exactly how his lips had felt pressing against her hand, how it felt to have him holding her hand as if it was something precious to him, as if she was precious to him. She also remembered his coldness to her, even this morning. He seemed like two different people. She was almost afraid to hope that perhaps they could be close again. If only, she prayed. If only, she had not really lost him. This morning, when he was with her and was so cold, she felt like nothing would ever be the same with them and that she would never be able to regain his trust. The only thing she had now was hope and the memory of his touch.

XXXXX

Hope you liked the way this is going and let us hope the real show brings them back together again, now. We have waited the whole season for one ray of hope. Perhaps we have it now.

Please drop me a line to let me know your thoughts on the subject and if you liked this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: Sorry I am so late writing this, guys. I was a bit under the weather for a while. Thanks so much for your reviews. Please keep them coming. You all really inspire me to do more writing. Thanks to scousedancer for all your suggestions and enthusiasm. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 5

After the memorial service, the Captain went back to sick bay, but only to have Rachel check his bandage again, so he could go to his quarters. He knew there was no way he could be spared to undergo surgery, with the sub out there and with practically no sonar available to protect the Nathan James. He knew he had to take action now if he was going to succeed. He told Rachel that he would have the surgery as soon as he could, but it could not be now. She checked the elastic bandage support she had but around him to hold him as still as possible so that his insides would be supported and hopefully he wouldn't be jarring himself much.

He told her to prepare to leave the ship with the cure the next day with her entire team, accompanied by Mike and the tactical team. Along with Rachel and her team would be the President, in addition to the children; they were all too valuable to be risked staying aboard the Nathan James. Tom knew he needed a clear head as he and his crew went after the sub.

Rachel was devastated at the thought of him going after that sub, but she knew he had no other choice. She touched his arm and looked into his eyes. She said, "Be safe, Tom. Be careful not to move too quickly."

He promised her, but she knew when it came to commanding his ship, he would not be thinking about himself at all and knowing the man, as she did, she knew he would do what he had to do to protect his ship and crew. She could only pray for divine intervention on his behalf and for all of the crew left aboard the Nathan James.

XXXXXXX

The next morning, the Captain forced himself to get up from his bed. His wound throbbed and it was incredibly painful. He could not take the pain pills that Doc Rios had given him because they would dull his mind and he needed all of his wits about him today. He walked into his personal head, bent over with pain. He made himself stand up inch by inch until he was standing tall, holding his breath from the pain. He looked at his face in the mirror, lifting his undershirt to look at the wound, wincing as he did so. He knew he should not even be out of bed, but there were things that had to be done and he, as Captain was the only person who could do them. He needed Mike to protect Rachel and the cure and also the President, while he himself took care of that sub or died trying. He prayed for the strength and wisdom to take on the sub and to destroy it, once and for all. It had to be today. He sat down at his desk and wrote a letter to his children and his father, in case he and the ship and crew did not survive this day. He was confident, but he knew what they were up against with practically no sonar and very few torpedoes and ammunition left. He forced himself to stand up straight, even though the effort caused him more pain. He could not look weak to his crew. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and left his quarters to go to the helo bay to see Mike, Rachel, Dr. Milowsky and the President off, along with his tactical team.

After he gave final goodbyes and instructions to Mike, Tom gave Mike the letter he had written to his family, in case the worst should happen. They shook hands, Commander to Commander, with the deep felt friendship and the bond they had for one another, praying that this would not be the last fight of the Nathan James and that they would all be back aboard, this night.

Rachel was the last to leave, and the Captain filled his eyes with her, as she turned one last time to look upon him, taking in the deep emotion in his ocean blue eyes, memorizing every contour of his face, knowing this may be the last time she would ever see him alive.

He looked with intensity into her eyes and into her beautiful face, knowing that somehow he had to bring her back. He had to get rid of the Sub and bring his crew to safety. He and Rachel, God willing, had a future and he did not break contact with her eyes until Mike yelled, "Dr. Scott, final boarding."

They gave each other one last intense look as she turned away to join the others.

Xxxxxxx

Later that day, after the incredible set of circumstances which saved the day, through all of the combined efforts of both the crew of the Nathan James and it's Captain and also the heroic efforts of Dr. Scott and Mike and all of those whose duty it had been to protect them. When the Captain realized that, had not Dr. Scott disobeyed Mike's order to stay dark, in order to help the dying child and her family, Mike and the SEAL's would never have learned from the child's parents about the huge ship killer artillery that the immunes were planning to use to take out the Nathan James. If that information had never been shared, Mike would not have been able to lead the seals to take over that huge gun and therefore save the Nathan James, which was almost out of ammunition. After the initial fight with the sub, they were left with only 4 rounds for one of the deck guns, which they did use to finish off the sub as she was being sunk by the big shore gun that Mike had fired twice. The whole outcome would have been quite different if Rachel had not saved the little girl with the Red Flu and her family, risking her life again to do so.

Soon the whole ship knew this and the entire group was welcomed back as heroes. Mike had gotten his wish of being present when the sub was sunk. Little did he know what an enormous role he would play in the final resolution of this battle.

XXXXXX

Now they had to prepare for the spreading the cure and getting the word out about the 3 meeting places, which people could come to be cured or immunized, along their route to their final destination, under the great arch in St. Louis.

The main leader of the Immunes was captured and many people were cured and immunized in the process, though Dr. Scott had to use all of her airborne cure at their second stop, after the Immunes tried to disrupt the gathering and cause death and panic. The immunes were still in play, but as more and more people were immunized, their power would eventually die out. Still they were not making the process easy. Finally, however, the Nathan James reached their final destination, the huge assembled crowd at the park in St. Louis.

The entire crew had been given the booster shot which made them contagious with the cure for 5-8 days. They were told how to spread the cure among the crowd and that was a beautiful scene which none of them or any of those present at this historic time would ever forget.

The Captain paused while still touching one of the people he was helping to cure there on the green. His heart was filled with wonder at what his people were actually doing here. He looked across the space between where he was until he spotted Rachel also spreading the cure. He stared in awe at how beautiful she was, the love in her eyes when she reached out and touched each person she was in contact with.

Suddenly she turned her face toward him, as if she felt the power of his gaze upon her. Their eyes met and they drank each other in. It was as if all time and space stopped and it was only the two of them in that park. That power, that magnetic pull was almost tangible in its magnitude, as it drew them together, even though they did not physically move. There was something in that moment that passed between them, letting her know that he wanted that bond between them to continue in a different way now. He nodded once sealing that knowledge of what he was feeling. Their relationship or what could be of their relationship in the future was of interest to him, even if he could not actually show it now. He wanted her to know that. He acknowledged their bond and he was extolling her victory, which was now their victory with the cure, as well. When she saw this, a happiness that she thought she would never feel burst forth and she gave him the most wondrous smile, a promise of what could be in their future, when he was ready. It took his breath away to see her so happy. He couldn't help but smile back at her, at the promise of that future together.

That night at the Inaugural ball, which was hastily put together at the largest hotel in the city, the Captain found himself staring at Rachel again, this time across the crowded ballroom. He was in his dress black uniform, which the Navy required be used for these Black Tie affairs. As the Captain looked across the ballroom, he observed, with great pride, his entire crew, also clad in the same smart dress uniforms. Also attending the Ball were the movers and shakers of St Louis, those dignitaries, officials and people of importance, who had survived the Red Flu outbreak, dressed in their finest ball gowns and Tuxedo's.

Much to his surprise, Rachel was wearing a black lace dress. She took his breath away with her beauty. He had never seen her in anything but jeans and various tops. Even then she had been very hard to ignore. The Navy uniforms that females wore on the ship were anything but form fitting, for a reason. She had turned many heads on the ship and men had to learn to keep their eyes off of her attributes, with a concerted effort. He had to make sure he did the same. Right now, however, he was admiring all of her. He could not help himself. The mayor had asked her to dance, as had a senator. He longed to ask her himself, but was not sure if he should since he was still technically in mourning. He caught her eye as she passed by him with a dancing partner. After this dance, the music started and he found himself in front of her. "Rachel?" he asked, as he bowed slightly by tilting his head forward and offering her his hand.

She looked up into those azure eyes, instinctively taking his hand. "Tom", she said accepting his invitation, without saying another word, a soft smile playing across her lips.

He held her at a formal distance, befitting something as formal as an inaugural ball. She looked into his magnificent blue eyes, which had never left hers for a second. He held her at the waist and she placed her left hand at his broad shoulder. He was an excellent dancer and she felt as light as a feather as he swept her around the room. They made a beautiful couple, as several of the ladies commented, as they continued to dance. They gazed into each other's eyes, exchanging a whole world of emotion, still without words. There was so much he wanted to say to her and so many things he could not yet say.

He was not in a position to make any overture to her toward a relationship. He felt guilty for even letting himself think about her in that way. He had just lost Darien, who he dearly loved and would always love. He did not know when he would be able to go there with Rachel, but he knew that there was no way he ever wanted to be without her. He knew he could not actively say anything yet. There was his family and the Navy and the complications of his own confused feelings, but he wondered if she realized that he could not stand the idea of being away from her at all. If only she would wait for him to get through this time. Please God, he hoped she would wait for him. Her eyes seemed to give him that promise that she too cared. He had seen how much hurt he had caused her. He never wanted to see that in her eyes again and he would move heaven and earth to keep her with him, until he could move forward with her and build on the bond they seemed to already have, beyond anything he had ever felt with anyone, even Darien. He knew it had to do with all the dangers, the fights and the victories they had shared together and helped to pull each other through. It was a different kind of bond and he did not quite know how to talk about it, but somehow he needed to let her know something about the way he felt, though he wasn't even clear in his mind how he would express it.

The dance ended and she stepped back from him, meeting his eyes again, saying in that velvety voice, "Thank you, Captain."

He bowed slightly to her again saying, "Rachel, it was truly my pleasure".

They could not seem to break eye contact. He was now free to speak with her for a moment alone. Unfortunately, the President chose this moment to interrupt them saying, "Ah Captain, might I borrow Dr. Scott for a moment, I want to introduce her to the head of Health and Human Services here in St. Louis."

The Captain had no other choice, but to say, "Of course, Mr. President."

He made eye contact with her once more before letting go of her hand, as the President led her away. Rachel looked back over her shoulder and saw him still watching her move away from him. She knew that he had planned to speak with her, but there would be another time, she would make sure of that.

The President, took her to a room off of the ballroom and introduced her to the man he had chosen for a project he had in mind for Rachel. This man would also be part of spearheading the project. After that conversation and after the other man had left the meeting, the President presented her with his official pardon and he dismissed the guard that had been standing outside the meeting room, waiting for Rachel. He had been her shadow, remaining at a respectful distance so as not to appear to be "her" guard, but none the less, he was her guard. The Captain had not dismissed him, because he still wanted her protected, even though he would never have actually let her be turned over to a civilian court. He knew that a pardon was in the works, after all she had done to save everyone and how she had even saved the Nathan James by her actions.

XXXX

The Captain had made his way to his room after saying goodnight to Mike. He had not seen Rachel again and had decided to call it a day. It had been some day at that.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to his room. Just as he was ready to insert it into his door, Rachel walked up to him and said, "Oh you beat me to it. I was going to slip this under your door."

She held an envelope in her hand. She said it was some things the President needed regarding a project that she would be doing. She explained that the President had given her an official pardon and that she would be leaving tomorrow on a mission regarding the cure.

His heart lurched when he heard she would be leaving. He asked her where she was going.

She outlined the places she would be going and he said that it sounded like an order from the President. She nodded that it was. They talked for a moment about the pardon and she flirted about how she was disappointed that she could not watch him squirm on the witness stand. He let her know he would have stood for what he had said, but that he would have given her a stellar character reference. He smiled saying that she would not have needed his reference because she would have had 206 of those, referring to the crew. He said all of this with a kind of soft smile. This meant so much to her to know how the crew really felt about her and how she had all of their love and respect at this point.

The Captain said, looking her up and down in a kind of flirty way, "Nice dress, by the way."

Flirting right back, she told him how the judge's daughter had leant it to her since, she could not have worn her jeans to the inaugural ball.

His eyes sparkled as he said with another smile on his lips, "You could have carried it off."

She knew he was flirting and she was flirting right back. She moved right up to him, their bodies only about 6 inches apart, handing him the letter, pressing it right into his stomach. Their hands brushed as the letter passed from her to him. He looked down into her upturned face. The overpowering urge to kiss her, caused him to blink as he held himself back, a little voice inside him saying urgently, "You just lost your wife. Tom, you can't betray Darien. You can't kiss her, not yet. You are not ready."

Rachel saw the second of panic on his face along with the deep desire to kiss her. She saw both and knew the struggle going on inside him. She took pity on him. She did not want him to feel pressured. She said softly and with meaning, looking up into his ocean blues. "I'll see you, when I see you."

She gave him the warmest seductive look. She could not help how much she wanted him.

She started to turn away, but he stopped her with his words. "Rachel, be safe."

She looked back at him and nodded and he left her with one last instruction, "When you come back,…..find me."

This was his signal that he really wanted their relationship to continue and to grow. He wanted her to find him as soon as she got back. A huge smile lit her face and she turned away swinging her hips and body in a most provocative way. She looked back over her shoulder and he was still watching her as she moved down the hall. He wasn't trying to hide his desire and appreciation of her as a woman. It was something that he was letting her know all day, from the time they were looking at each other in the park.

She was in a wonderful mood as she approached her room. She saw another figure move out of the shadows down the hall coming toward her.

XXXXXX

After Rachel left him, The Captain let himself into his hotel room and closed the door behind him. He had a worried look on his face, his mind full of Rachel and how much he was going to miss her. He could not even imagine his ship without her and for her not to be under his protection any longer. It was hard to take in. He removed his dress tie and had just been about to unbutton his dress uniform jacket, when he heard a loud gunshot and it sounded close. He instinctively thought they must be under attack. He grabbed his service revolver out of drawer and headed out the door. He ran down the hall in the direction he had heard the shot. He thought it may have come from the ballroom. All of their rooms were on the first floor. His room was 33. As he rounded a corner he saw Rachel's body slumped on the floor by the door to her hotel room. His heart was in his throat as he fell to his knees and bent over her. "Rachel, Oh dear God, Rachel."

He could see she was still alive, but her breathing was labored. She was bleeding heavily. He immediately put pressure on the wound in her shoulder to slow the bleeding as much as possible. She cried out in pain, "Tom…...you...found...me…...Don't leave me ... please, Tom…..It was one of the Immunes."

He said "Rachel, I won't leave you. You're going to be alright, Rachel, I am going to get you to Dr. Rios. Just stay with me, baby."

He picked her up held her to his chest. Wolf ran down the hall and saw the Captain with Rachel in his arms. He said, "Sir, we heard a shot. Danny and Burk are on the way, Sir."

The Captain yelled, "Dr. Scott has been shot, Wolf. Get Doc Rios and Milowsky, now. Get Mike to lockdown all exits and make sure the President is under guard. One of the Immunes did this. There may be others. Get her door open for me, Wolf."

Wolf said, " Roger That, Captain", as he picked up Rachel's hotel key and opened her door, holding it for the Captain. The Captain yelled, "Go Wolf, Room 48. Tell Dr. Rios to hurry. Tell the XO to order the helo here."

He looked down at her and could see she was now barely conscious. Rachel's medical bag was on the table by the bed.

Tom carried Rachel as gently as he could to the bed and laid her on it, propping a pillow under her head. He saw she was covered with blood as was he. He knew the bullet had passed through and gone out, because when he picked her up he felt the exit wound on the back of her shoulder. She had cried out when he picked her up. He rushed to the bathroom and picked up all of the towels. He ripped her lace dress at the neck baring her chest and back down to her bra, exposing both the entrance and exit wounds He lifted her and placed a rolled up towel against the exit wound and pressed her down again, hoping her weight would put enough pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding. He placed another towel on the entrance wound and put pressure on it. She screamed in pain, but he knew there was no other choice. "Sorry, baby…..Just stay with me… Dr. Rios and Milowsky will be here in a minute. You are going to be alright, do you hear me, Rachel?"

He looked into her eyes and he could see she was barely conscious. She said barely audible, "Tom…open my bag…. get the clot packets, the brown ones. Dump powder over he wounds…. . Hurry, Tom."

He grabbed the bag and threw its contents on the bed. He held up the brown packets and she nodded. He ripped the first one open and poured it out over the entrance wound. She cried out, but he did not stop. He sat her up and leaned her up against his chest and he poured the second packet on the exit wound. This helped the flow of blood to clot, but she had already lost so much blood. She was starting to loose consciousness. "Tom...you found me. I was afraid I would never see you again."

She could see the tears in his eyes, as he bent over her, keeping pressure on the wound, pressing her hard enough to keep the back wound pressed against the towel. He said, "I will always find you Rachel. I never want to let you go….Now stay with me…Look at me, Rachel. Don't you dare let go…...Rachel…you are a fighter...Fight it, honey."

She said, "Tom …I'm trying…..don't leave me… Tom….so…cold…Tom…I…."

At that moment, the staff opened the door for Dr. Rios and Milowsky and several other people entered the room. Both doctors rushed to the bed.

Rachel said, again, "Tom, where….are...you?"

Rios said, "Rachel, this is Dr. Rios and Dr. Milowsky. Tom is right here with us."

Tom got a blanket out of the closet and placed it over part of her. He said, Rachel I am right here, honey. I am holding your hand. We've got you covered. You are going to be alright, Rachel…...just stay with us,"

He squeezed her left hand He filled Dr. Rios in with the information he had discovered about the bullet passing through.

Dr. Rios said "She has lost so much blood, but at least you used the clot packets. Good move, Captain. Dr. Milowsky, do you have any of the X-Stat injections? Inject the wound area and we can try to halt any more blood loss."

Mike burst into the room at a run. He was out of breath. He said, "Doc, did I hear you say you need blood for Rachel?"

He was already throwing off his uniform jacket in readiness.

Dr. Rios said, "Just the person I was hoping was here right now, one of our universal donors."

Mike said "Yes, Doc, That is why I'm here. I thought she might need it."

Mike was already rolling up his sleeve. Milowsky set up the exchange equipment and started the transfusion.

Wolf came in with the rescue crew from the Helo and Rachel was lifted carefully onto a stretcher, with Mike still attached to her for the blood transfusion.

Wolf said that there was a working hospital with a trauma team and surgery facilities waiting for them about 2 miles from the hotel. We can be there in 5 minutes including the time it takes to get her on the helo with all of us and into the hospital. They had also brought along two other crew members who were universal donors. Dr Rios was glad of that because he knew they were going to need more blood during the surgery.

Tom was talking quietly to Rachel on the trip to the hospital on the helo', though she was in and out of consciousness, but she would squeeze his hand lightly every once in awhile, even if she did not have the strength to talk.

He stayed right at her side even as she was taken into the examining room at the trauma center. The attending nurse said, Captain, you have to let go of her hand and you need to step outside now."

He said," I am not going to leave her. You will have to work around me!"

Dr. Rios placed his hand on the Captain's arm, firmly. "Captain, you cannot stay in here. You will keep her from getting the care she needs. I will be in here with them. You know I will let you know everything that is happening. Let go of her hand, sir."

Tom looked into the eyes of Doctor Rios and saw that he was telling him he had to leave her and he just looked at him, unable to move.

Mike, who was standing behind his friend and Captain, firmly took him by the shoulders and held him from the back, as doctor Rios forcibly uncoupled the Captain's fingers from Rachel's hand and the trauma team lifted her onto the examining table to stabilize her for surgery. Mike said gently but firmly," I've got you, Tom," as he backed him out of the trauma room.

Mike had looked at his friend and his Captain and had seen that he was practically in shock himself, his uniform and shirt covered with Rachel's blood. His hands covered with her blood from when he had tried to apply pressure to apply pressure to her wounds. His eyes were filled with tears. He said, "Mike, I can't lose Rachel, too. Please God, Don't take her, too. I should have escorted her to her room."

Mike said, "Yes and you would both have been shot. You were not wearing a gun tonight, Tom. Come with me now. Let's get you cleaned up a bit."

Tom said, "No, Mike. I want to stay here until I know she is alright."

Just then Dr. Rios came out and said, "Captain, they are taking her to surgery, it is a bad injury, but Mike's blood came just in time and we will know more when we can take a look at the damage. She is holding her own right now. This hospital had been closed before the Red Flu and has recently been opened again as a safe zone. Personnel who were immune and also some from other safe zones were brought in to work here for survivors. We have one of the best surgeons in the city here. He is here with us. He is getting scrubbed right now. You can meet him after the surgery. It will be a while. You can see her after the surgery, but you have to change into something other than what you are wearing now, Captain. Mike if you can get him cleaned up, I will tell the nurse over there to get him scrubs to wear. They have resident's quarters, where you can shower and change out of that bloody uniform, unless you want to go back to your room at the hotel, Captain and then return here."

The Captain said, "No, Dr. Rios, I will stay here. I will shower and clean up here."

Rios said, "Very well, Captain, I will arrange it, but I have to get up and get scrubbed myself, if I am to be part of the surgical team."

Mike got Tom to sit down until the nurse that Doctor Rios indicated came to him and gently told him to follow her. She took him to one of the Resident Doctors quarters. All of the doctors and nurses knew by this time that he was the hero of the Cure, Captain Thomas Chandler of the Nathan James and he was here at the hospital to be with Dr. Rachel Scott, the doctor who had found and developed the cure. The two of them were already becoming folk heroes, as were all the members of the crew of the Nathan James, but there was already all kinds of new speculation about these two, because of the way the Captain was acting with regard to not leaving her and the condition of his uniform and his person when she was brought in. Now there would be stories about his heroic rescue of the beautiful Dr. Scott. When people actually saw the two of them, it was like a dream. He was every woman's dream of a handsome Captain and she was a beauty from any man's perspective. He was a man's man, a man a crew would follow to hell and back and she was the brilliant, strong, resourceful and spirited doctor, a woman any other woman would look up to with pride, as well as a bit of envy. This was the stuff from which legends were made. Little did Rachel and Tom realize what a tasty tidbit their relationship was becoming?

Comments were made among the nurses. "Did you see the way he was looking at her? He had to be physically restrained from following her into the trauma exam room. The doctor had to pry his hand away from hers. Good thing that other officer was there. He was the only one big enough to handle the Captain. We might have had a real problem with him. He was practically in shock himself."

Mike went with Tom into the Resident's quarters and he waited for Tom, while he showered.

Tom stood under the hot water of the shower and watched as Rachel's blood washed off of his body, running red down the drain at his feet. Now that he was in the shower, his emotions cut loose and tears gushed from his eyes and his chest and shoulders heaved as the hot water soothed his tight muscles and he could feel himself unwind from the trauma of what he had just been through with Rachel. He gradually let go of all of the emotions he had been holding in and brought himself back under control. He had to be strong for her and for his crew. When he came out of the shower, he was in much better shape. He had put on the scrubs, Mike had given him, though he had to go commando, because Rachel's blood had soaked through not only his uniform, shirt and undershirt, but also part of his shorts. He was also vaguely aware of some pain from deep within his own recent healing wound, but he put it out of his mind. He must have broken a few stitches when he lifted Rachel.

Tom put all of his clothing into a bag, which Mike took with him. He needed to get back, since he was in command of everything, until the Captain came back. He had only come to the hospital, because he was attached to Rachel during the transfusion. Seeing the shape Tom was in, he was glad he had been here for him. He told Tom, he would have fresh tactical team guards come to the hospital to relieve Green, Burk and Cruz, in the morning and they would bring him a fresh uniform from the Nathan James.

He put his hand on Tom's arm. He said "Tom, I'll come back as soon as I can. Let her know, she has the whole crew behind her. Will you tell her that for me, Tom? Green and Burk are guarding the operating room as we speak. Cruz is here for you.

Tom looked into his eyes and saw Mike's concern. The Captain, nodded, "Thank you for being here, Mike. I will tell her. Is the President secure and did you find that Immune?"

Mike said. "Yes, we got him before he could get out of the building. As soon as we heard the shot, Admiral Halsey was alerted and he picked up his scent around the outside of Rachel's room. . We got him before he could shoot anyone else. We took him alive and I will have a long talk with him when I get back to the ship and you know I won't go easy on him, Tom."

As they walked out, Master Chief Jeter walked over to them. He nodded to Mike, "I thought you might like some company, Captain."

He was still in full dress uniform. The Captain said, Thank you, Master Chief. It looks like we may be in for a long night."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Seasoned nurse, Claire Stone, who had taken the Captain to the Resident Doctor's quarters earlier, now took the Captain, Master Chief and a fully armed Cruz, to the waiting room, near the Operating Room area. The Master Chief sat down across from the Captain, Nurse Stone smiled at the Captain and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying gently, "Commander, I will check in periodically and see if I can get you some information about how much more they may have to do. Please, if you need anything, I will be right over at that desk. If you would like coffee, I have a pot at the nurses' station."

She then walked away, smiling kindly, waving away the thanks from both Tom and the Master Chief.

The Captain and Master Chief settled in for the long wait.

Tom said "If I had only kept her talking longer when she was outside my room, then he may never have found her. God, why did the President dismiss her guard? He was there to protect her. I knew the President was planning to pardon her. I should have told him not to dismiss the guard. I should have known. I have always made sure she was guarded. This time, I failed her, Russ."

The Master Chief said, "Sir, you could not have known. It was not your fault. He came after her. He would have waited for her to come to her room. The important thing right now is to pray she will be alright and think positively. She is a fighter, you know that."

The Captain let his face fall into his hands.

The Master Chief did a double take of the Captain and realized he really did not look himself at all. He was flushed one minute and seemed pale the next. His eyes had a strange glazed look. "Captain, are you alright?" he said, placing his hand on the Captain's arm.

His arm felt very hot to the touch. The Master Chief frowned with worry. "Captain, Sir, I think you have a fever."

Tom looked up at him, brushing his hand away as he tried to touch his forehead.

"It is just a bit warm in here. I could use some cold water. I'll be fine," he replied quietly, but the Master Chief remained unconvinced. He'd known Tom Chandler for many years, and he knew something wasn't right with his captain and friend.

The Master Chief got up and brought the Captain some water. "Thanks Russ. I really needed this. It has been quite a day, hasn't it?"

Cruz stood back observing all that had happened. Commander Slattery had given him orders to guard the Captain personally, in conjunction with Green and Burke who were guarding Dr. Scott outside the operating room right now. They had all been in Dr. Scott's room when the doctors had worked on her. They all heard and saw the way the Captain was reacting and they all knew that this man loved her, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it from himself and the crew. Everyone saw how devastated the Captain was when his wife died. He really loved her, that was clear, but the bond he had with Dr. Scott went beyond anything Cruz had ever seen.

He was one of the people, along with Miller who had seen how hard it was for Dr. Scott to work with Neils and how it appeared she had killed the SOB. He had actually heard the Captain yelling at Dr. Scott in the Ward Room and then in his quarters. His exact words were scathing and were devastating to Dr. Scott, who had left the furious Captain's quarters, in tears and shock. Those crew members, who had been unfortunate enough to hear what he said to her and to hear her crying afterward, were heart broken for her. Every member of the crew loved her and respected her. Indeed, many had bets on when the two of them would bring their relationship out of the closet. After that falling out, all bets were off, as it was pretty clear that the Captain was furious at her and the crew was afraid they would never work things out.

They had always been working as a team and now the team was broken. It made everyone very uneasy. The Captain was in a continuously foul mood and everyone tried very hard to stay out of his way. She was unable to see most of the crew unless they needed her medically or had anything to do with the lab work. There was a guard on her who followed her wherever she went and was there to make sure she did not go to any of the areas the Captain had stipulated were off limits to her.

Then came the day the oil rig was hit by RPG's, when they lost 4 of their crew and almost lost their Captain. It was a say Cruz would never forget. They had all been picked up by the helo and brought back to the helo bay, which had been turned into an emergency triage area. All the doctors were called into the Helo bay. Dr. Scott had also been there, running ahead of her guard, who could not even keep up with her. The Captain had been brought back with the other members of both teams and he could hear his voice as he barked orders for the doctors to see to Burk, who was burned.

Tex had been shot in the buttocks and Bivas was critical, as was Chung. Burk was trying to get to Bevas, but he was being treated for the burns. Finally, they let Burk go to Bevas. The Captain had made sure all of his wounded were taken care of, but no one realized how seriously injured the Captain was. He had been sitting down and had seen Chung die. He got up and started walking toward Commander Garnett, who was standing with her head in her hands, after Chung had died. The Captain called to her using his nickname for her, "Eng…. Eng….. I am so sorry."

She looked up at him and realized something was terribly wrong, he looked so dazed. Much to their horror, the Captain collapsed onto the floor. Commander Garnett screamed, "Dr. Scott, the Captain!"

He remembered what happened next as if it were yesterday. Everyone turned and Dr. Scott was on her knees immediately at his side. She and Dr. Rios turned him over and Dr. Rios got his armored vest off and someone else placed a pillow under his head. Dr. Scott ripped open his BDU Jacket and upped his T-shirt, baring his chest and abdomen. Everyone gasped as they clearly saw a large wound in his abdomen area, near his ribs. Dr. Scott said "It looks like a shrapnel hit. He is bleeding internally."

Cruz heard the Captain say very weakly, "Rachel."

Cruz was close enough to hear her say. "Tom, I am right here with you. Now, I want you to lie very still for me, love."

She had looked up at his face, but he was already unconscious. Dr. Rios handed her the instrument she needed and she went to work on him immediately probing to find the shrapnel. Dr. Rios was watching the Captain's pressure and it was going down. He said "Rachel, he is bleeding out. You have to find where it is coming from quickly."

The tension was evident in her voice as she answered him. "I am bringing the shrapnel out now. I know where the bleeding is coming from."

She pulled the piece of shrapnel out and immediately went back in to stop the bleeding.

Dr. Rios said, "Dr. Scott. His pressure is dropping. You only have a moment or two."

Rachel stayed steady and finished what she was doing. "Got it," she said with finality, letting out the breath she had been holding.

She could see his pressure rising back into the safe zone, after it had almost bottomed out.

She had put a permanent clamp on the area that had been bleeding inside of him. She breathed a sigh of relief as did everyone in the room, who was witnessing this interlude. Cruz was amazed at how calm and steady she had been during the surgery, which was performed as the captain was on the floor. Dr. Rios had ordered a board for him and he was placed on it, so that Doctor Scott could continue to suture his wound, as best she could. She had quickly cut off his BDU jacket and T shirt, leaving his muscular body, bare on top. After she had cleaned the blood off of his abdomen, she ordered him placed on a stretcher, so that he could be taken to sickbay. Cruz could see his BDU pants also had blood on them, but no wounds had struck him below his belt buckle. Rachel put a blanket over him and tucked it in at the sides. As she knelt beside him, Cruz saw her place her hand on his chest. As she looked at his face, her head dipping forward as if in a silent prayer. She stayed that way for a moment and then collecting herself, she arose just in time to see the XO and the Master Chief come into the room. The XO went directly to her. "Dr. Scott, my God, how is he? Dr. Rios just gave me a rundown on our wounded and dead."

She said, "He made it through the surgery, but it was touch and go for a while. I still have to get him to sickbay where we have a sonogram and we can see if there is any more shrapnel inside of him. He is not out of the woods yet, Mike."

The XO said, "How long will he be out."

She said, "Hard to say. I will call you when he is coherent again."

The XO said, "How are you Rachel?"

Both Cruz and the XO could see that that she was now shaking a bit. He saw the XO slip a strong arm around Rachel's shoulders to steady her. He knew the XO could only guess how hard it was for her to operate on The Captain, who she still obviously cared about deeply and then almost losing him in the process and still staying steady. Now, she was suffering the aftermath of the adrenaline let down after the fact. His thoughts drifted back to today and all he had seen between the Captain and Doctor Scott.

He had been standing outside the ER as he watched the XO almost forcibly remove the Captain from the ER and how Doc Rios had removed Rachel's hand from the Captain's grip. It was so clear to him now, that things had only gotten stronger between them, after the Captain had gotten over his anger at her. He prayed that Dr. Scott would be alright and that they could be together finally after all of this. "Hell, the whole damned crew wanted them to be together," he thought.

xxxxx

After at least 3 hours and after several reports from Nurse Claire Stone, Rachel was still not out of surgery. The Captain saw Nurse Stone leave the room again to check. This time she came back after a very short time. He saw her enter the waiting room and walk toward them. She said gently, giving the two men a reassuring smile, "Captain, they are closing right now and I am sure the doctor will be out soon."

Dr. Rios came out first and walked over to them. Tom stood up, as did Jeter.

The worry and concern were etched onto their faces. Rios hurried over to reassure them. "Captain, she pulled through so far. She is still not out of the woods, but she is stable now and has been taken to recovery. It was a very long surgery and Dr. Connors had to repair a lot of damage. It was good that the bullet passed through the way it did, so we did not have to go hunting for the bullet, but there were bone fragments and the damage of an exit wound is not good either."

Tom said, "Doc, I want to see her."

Dr Rios said, "Tom, Dr. Connors is with her now in recovery. He will be out to speak with you in a few minutes and we will see if you can go in."

Tom was looking at Dr. Rios when he realized that the room was spinning a bit. His wound was throbbing and there was a deep pain inside of his abdomen. He thought vaguely that he must have loosened some sutures when he was carrying Rachel.

Dr. Connors came into the room and came directly over to the Captain, holding out his hand to shake hands with him. Tom shook hands with him, finding it difficult to focus on his face. "How is she, doctor? When can I see her? I need to be with her," he said, the love and concern he'd normally keep carefully hidden, displayed so clearly.

Dr. Connors looked closely at the Captain. "She is stable and I was going to let you go into the recovery room to be with her until she is ready to be moved to her room, but Captain, are you alright, sir?"

Tom was trying to form words, but the room was spinning and he was trying to get his balance. Dr Connors, realizing something was very wrong here, immediately took hold of the Captain's arm said firmly, "Captain, I think you had better sit down."

He eased the Captain back into a chair, as he placed his palm on the Captain's forehead. Doctor Connors said, "Sir, you are burning up with fever. Were you injured today, also?"

The Captain said, "No, no, I am alright. I need to see Rachel."

Dr. Rios said, "Doctor, he took a shrapnel hit a few days ago and we almost lost him in surgery. He has a piece of shrapnel still inside, behind his liver and we will need to go back in and get that out. I fear that shrapnel has moved and may be causing problems. Captain, do you feel pain?"

Tom said, "Only a little. I need to see Rachel. I probably pulled a few sutures when I picked her up, when she was shot."

Dr. Rios said, "Sir, you lifted her yourself, after the surgery you had?"

The Captain did not like where this was going and said impatiently, "Of course I did. Did you think I could let her just lie there in the hallway?"

Dr, Connors said, "Dr. Rios, I need to examine him right away. He is burning up with fever and he could be bleeding internally."

He yelled for Nurse Stone to have a gurney brought to him from the OR and to tell the OR staff to stay there." I need to know if OR2 is open and ready."

"

The Captain said, "Wait Doctor. I need to see Rachel first."

Dr. Connors shook his head in exasperation. He took a wheelchair from the Nurses station and brought it over to the Captain. He and Dr. Rios got the Captain into the wheelchair. Dr. Connors led the way and Dr. Rios pushed the wheelchair through the swinging doors, down the hall, passed the Operating Rooms, to where Green and Burke, were standing outside the Recovery Room still standing guard over Dr. Scott, after her surgery. Cruz nodded to the other two as they watched, with open mouths, their Captain, being rolled in a wheelchair, into the recovery room. Cruz waited outside with Green and Burke. He began explaining what had happened to the Captain.

Inside the Recovery Room, Doctor Connors said, "Captain, you have 2 minutes or until the gurney is brought here."

Tom looked at Rachel. She lay so still and pale. Even asleep, she was beautiful, her chocolate brown eyes closed, her chest rising and falling steadily. He could see that her right shoulder was bandaged and her right arm was in a sling bandage holding it close to her body. Tom took her left hand and held it to his burning lips. He was having difficulty seeing her face now. Everything was blurring. He said, "Rachel..., I'm here…I'm here, baby."

The gurney was rolled in. The Captain had slumped forward so his head rested on Rachel's hand on her bed and Dr. Rios was holding his shoulder to keep him from falling out of the chair.

Dr. Rios called Cruz, Danny and Burke into the Recovery Room to help with the Captain. Cruz gently lifted the Captain's head, which was resting on Rachel's bed on top of her hand. Cruz could feel that he was burning with fever. Green and Burke lifted their Captain, while Cruz supported his head and they placed him on the gurney. A nurse had come in with a thermometer and a heart monitor. The doctor immediately opened up the scrub shirt that the Captain was wearing and lowered his scrub pants a bit to below his waist. He started gently examining him and was probing the area around the wound. The Captain, who was not totally unconscious, groaned in pain." The three SEALS stood back but watched as he was examined.

The nurse said, "His temperature is 103.3 and climbing. His heartbeat is irregular. He was beginning to lose consciousness. Dr. Connors yelled "Get him into OR 2 for emergency surgery, now. Tell the crew to get scrubbed stat. Nurse, get his clothes off and put a sheet over him. Prep him as much as you can, we don't even have time to completely prep him. For God's sake, hurry."

The two doctors rushed into the OR and immediately started scrubbing for surgery. Dr. Connors said, "Dr. Rios, why wasn't this surgery done right away?"

Doctor Rios said, "Dr. Connors, you do not understand what he was up against when all of this happened."

Dr. Connors said, "Well, you had better enlighten me while we are getting scrubbed for surgery."

Doctor Rios explained, "When he was brought back from the oil rig explosions, he'd been hit by shrapnel. Dr. Scott and I had to do surgery on him right there in the hanger. We almost lost him. We had to stabilize him until we could get him to sick bay where we had a sonogram. That is when we discovered the second piece of shrapnel, behind his liver."

Doctor Scott told him she needed to go back in to get the other piece of shrapnel out, but the Captain said that she would have to wait. The Nathan James was under attack from a sub filled with Immunes who were trying to destroy the ship and the cure. The Captain had to take the sub out first and the sub did a great deal of damage to his ship. He absolutely could not be spared until after the conflict and of course, the cure had to then be shared, so many lives were at stake. It has been about 4 days since the original surgery and he has been carrying that other piece of shrapnel inside him. It must have moved and cut him inside, like Rachel warned him it might."

Dr. Connor said. "I hope we can save him, after all he has done to bring the cure to us and keep it and Dr. Scott safe. I pray he did not wait too long and I guess he really did a job on himself lifting her, with that shrapnel still inside him. Who could blame him? He obviously loves her. He would definitely have risked everything without a single thought to himself. Well, doctor Rios, are you ready? Let's roll."

They interred the OR and the Captain was lying on the table, an IV in each arm. An antibiotic drip had already been started. There was blood ready in case he needed a transfusion. He was hooked up to monitors and the whole team was ready. They even had ice ready to take his fever down fast, if he convulsed. They had his arms strapped to the table because he was thrashing around, his head moving from side to side as he mumbled. "Rachel….where are you, Rachel? I can't see you….Have to...find….you. Rachel…. Rachel….."

Doctor Conner nodded to the anesthesiologist. "Put him under and let's get these two back together. She was calling out to him before we did her surgery, the same way. They really seem to have a bond, these two."

xxxxxxxx

TBC

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it will not be too long before the next chapter. Let me know if you like the way the story is going up to this point. Thanks to Scoucedancer for all your editing help.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Stand Fast

Tom suddenly found himself standing outside the operating room. He was disoriented for a moment because he did not know how he got there. The nurse went by and he asked her where he could find Dr. Scott. She directed him to another room. He went there, but could not find her. He checked the next room and then the next. He could not find her.

He looked down and realized he was barefooted. Then he realized the only thing he was wearing was a pair of scrub pants and he could feel he was not wearing anything under them. He remembered taking off his uniform which had been covered with blood, along with his boxers. He knew he had to find Rachel. Each person he met told him Rachel was in another room. He went from room to room and could not find her, no matter how many places he looked. He thought it odd that none of the people he met seemed to notice that he was not really dressed. No one asked him what he was doing wandering around barefooted in nothing but a pair of light cotton pants, which were held up by a draw string loosely slung on his hips

Suddenly, he stopped. He just stood there in place for a moment and realized that none of this made any sense. What was he doing? He said to himself," You are dreaming, for God's sake. You've been going in circles. You are in one of those dreams where you get lost and you can't find the place or the person you are looking for."

He had learned an interesting thing, in a previous dream, in which he had realized he was dreaming. He said to himself again. "If you know you are dreaming you can control what happens. You can wish yourself in another place or circumstance and you can be there instantly."

He gave his mind the order to take him to where Rachel was. He instantly found himself standing next to her in, of all places, the observation room overlooking the Operating Room. He said startled, "Rachel, here you are."

She said, "Well of course I am here. Where did you expect me to be. I am here watching your surgery. I had to make sure Dr. Connors was doing a good job on you. I had planned on doing the surgery myself, but things didn't work out the way we had planned, did they? I told you that you needed that surgery. You waited so long, Tom, you are really in danger, but Dr. Connors seems to be doing the surgery very well. I have been here since just before they started the surgery and your fever did not help. You had a few close calls, but I think you will pull through. I will not let you die, not if I pulled through. They still have a ways to go with you down there. You were calling for me and then, I found you. You sure took your time getting here. It took you some time to realize you were dreaming, didn't it? It did for me also. Maybe this is not totally a dream. Maybe we are just separated from our bodies. Well, if we are in a dream state, we are sharing a dream, unless it is only my dream and you are not really here."

He said, "Oh I am really here. Somehow we are sharing this dream. I think we are really sharing this dream, because I would never have chosen this place. I only thought of being where you were and this is where I landed. You chose this place, I didn't. Therefore we must be sharing our dream."

Tom looked down and saw himself lying on the Operating table with his abdomen being probed. He gasped and felt week in the knees and sat down in one of the chairs and looked away, saying, "Rachel, I can't watch myself being operated on. How can you be here? You have just had surgery and you are supposed to be in recovery. "

"I am still in recovery and that is where you will be when they finish your surgery, but in our dream state, we are here together." she said.

He replied, "It is a lot to get my mind around. I knew I could control my dream, if I knew I was dreaming, but I never knew I could share a dream with you. That is really amazing, though I don't really like being here watching my own surgery."

Tom looked closely at her, now that her attention was on him. She was in a light filmy gown and there was no sign of any wound. Her shoulders were perfection. She looked lovely. The white chiffon material was draped over her body in a way that took his breath away. "Rachel", he said. "You look like a Greek goddess in that gown."

He just wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close, to feel her body pressed against his.

She answered back. "You don't look so bad yourself, love, but you could have chosen something besides those scrubs pants."

He said, "I don't recall choosing any clothing. This is what I was wearing, as I remember. At least I had some clothes on."

Rachel looked at him with a gleam in her eye. Well, as a matter of fact, Captain, the nurse removed all of your clothing when she was prepping you for surgery. She said silently to herself unable to tell him what she wanted to say. " I would not have minded if you came to me naked, but you are distracting me enough just the way you are."

She continued out loud, " I think they are getting ready to close and put you into recovery. You won't be waking up for a while and neither will I…"

Suddenly and without any warning, they were both launched out of the observation room and they found themselves on a pathway in what seemed to be a forest. It was twilight and in the distance they saw a bright light which looked like sunlight at the end of the path. Tom started walking toward it. Somehow he was drawn to it. It was so warm and beautiful. He felt Rachel's hand on his arm, trying to hold him back. She said, "Oh no, Tom, We must turn back. We don't want to go to that light. Tom ….Tom...Oh...No...something must have happened…..Come back with me to the Operating room...now….please…..Tom….don't go to the light!.. I have to find out why this is happening. I have to leave you for a moment….promise me you will not go into the light….wait for me, Tom. Promise me."

She stepped in front of him and shook him. "Tom, look at me...Promise me, Tom, you will not go into the light."

He heard her at last and said, "I will wait for you Rachel, but hurry. I don't feel like there is much time."

Rachel willed herself back into the OR and found herself standing right next to Dr. Connors, who was desperately trying to revive the Captain, who had suddenly coded. He had flat lined. Rachel took hold of the doctor and shook him, though he could not tell she was there. She screamed at him, " Dr. Connors, don't you dare let him die. I can't live without him. I don't want to live without him. Do you hear me? Please God. Don't let him die. Don't take him from me now….Dr. Connors ... don't call it, Keep trying. Try something else...try….He is too valuable to the country... to the world … to me. Please think…..There is something else you can do. You have not got much time."

XXXXX

Tom had kept walking. He could see a woman's figure, outlined against the light.

She looked so familiar. "Darien?….Oh God…. Darien….you are here…Thank God, my love, I thought I would never see you again. Oh Darien, you are so beautiful."

He started to move toward her. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. God, how he loved her.

She stepped closer to him but she held out her hands to halt him…."Tom, my darling….You must not come any closer...Do not step into the light...Please Tom, I love you with all of my heart, my sweet, but you must not come here now…..You must not leave our children without a parent… I know you have been hurt physically and that your life hangs in the balance, but it's not your time...You have other work to do...You must stay there for Ashley and Sam.….Tom, I don't want you here yet… You have always been faithful to me. I have never doubted you, but now you need to go back…. I want my children to have a family, a complete family….Tom… I know that Dr. Scott has become close to you and you to her…. I can see that she will be a good mother to our children….Tom,...you must go back….Don't grieve for me, my darling, at least no longer than you must. The love we had will never be lost. You must believe that. You are not betraying me if you love again. You have such capacity for love, sweetheart… I want you to be happy and I want my children to have someone who loves them the way I love them. I know that Dr. Scott, Rachel, can be that person, if you will give her a chance. Share your life with her, Tom. I want you to have her in your life, my dearest love. I would never want you to be alone. Live…..Tom…..Live….Now, go back, my darling. Go back. Know that I will always love you and that this is what I truly want for you."

He said, tears filling his eyes, "Wait…..Darien, don't go….I love you and I am so sorry I got back too late to save you. I never got to say goodbye...Darien... honey...don't leave me."

She stood and looked at him one last time. She was so beautiful and her golden blonde hair glowed in the light. She said, "Tom, it was my time to go, sweetheart. Even if you had gotten back a few hours sooner, there is nothing you could have done to save me. My time there is over, but you have more to your life and you must go back now. You now have your goodbye from me, my darling and know that I am so happy for you and you have my blessing to find happiness. Know that none of your new happiness will ever lessen the love we shared. Now go, my love."

Suddenly, the light was gone and he stood there for a moment staring into the darkness. Rachel suddenly appeared by his side. "Oh, thank God, you listened to me, Tom. You did not go into the light. I don't know how I got through to Dr. Connors, though you would think I I was shaking the life out of him, until he tried one last time to bring you back. He did it …... and your heart started again. Thank God, you did not go into that light, Tom."

He stared into the sky, where the light had been and said in wonder, "She would not let me step into the light, Rachel."

"Who, Tom, who would not let you go into the light?" she said breathlessly.

He whispered, "Darien…..she...forced me to stay back. She told me it was not my time and that I had to stay and be a parent to my children and that I needed to….to...share my life with…...with…"

Rachel said "share your life with...who, Tom?"

"With you, Rachel, She wants me to share my life with you," he said looking deeply into her eyes, as if probing her spirit.

Rachel stood there in the twilight somewhat taken aback studying him. "What about you, Tom, what do you want?"

She looked deep into his cerulean blue eyes and she could see the tears. He took her into his arms and pulled her to his bare chest. "Rachel, I want you. I could not stand the thought of your not being with me, of your dying. I don't know what I would do if I had lost you."

Rachel was crying also, "Oh, Tom, I was the one who almost lost you, my love. I knew if you were to die, I wouldn't want to live without you. That is why I almost shook Doctor Connors silly, until he gave in and tried one last time to get your heart to start again. He said to the other people in the Operating room, who had already given up on you, 'Okay, something is telling me that this man has given everything to bring us the cure, we must certainly make one last additional attempt to save his life. One more time,. Clear!"...

With tears in his eyes, Dr. Connors yelled, "God help him…..Stay with us, Captain…. Live!"

"They gave you one more shock to your heart and after a second, your heart started beating and all those in the OR were cheering for you and I was hugging Dr. Connors. Almost all of them were crying. You are alive, but you are still unconscious. They stabilized you, closed your wound and put you into recovery. He checked me while he was checking you," Rachel said, hugging Tom and laying her head against his chest.

She continued, "Dr. Connors smiled and said, 'I think we have saved them both, God willing. Now I can sleep well tonight, knowing that I did everything I could for both of them. When they come out of recovery, put them in the same room. There are two beds in that room, are there not? They will both recover better together. Besides, I know I could not keep him from coming to her, even if he killed himself doing it. I want him to stay in that bed for a while. I want a nurse in their room 24/7, to make sure of it. I know they have 3 guards at the door outside.'"

"That is what happened, Tom," she said. "Now, you know it all.".

Tom said, "Well at least we will be recovering in the same room and I will be with you. Once we are conscious, they probably will not have to have a nurse there all of the time."

He continued, holding her close. "For now, I don't want to go back, not yet. I have a feeling we are both in for some real pain. Let's just stay in the dream for a while, as long as we can. Where shall we go, Rachel?" I think it is safe for us to go someplace else in our dream. Where in all of time and space shall we go, to a place in the past or a place in the future? Where, my love?"

xxxxx


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Stand Fast

Though Tom had given the choice of where they would go while in their shared dream, Rachel left it up to him. "Hold my hand, Rachel and be sure you are telling yourself to stay with me wherever I go. I know a place I would take you. I am thinking that we are there together, now….."

Rachel and Tom found themselves in a cozy mountain cabin. They were standing in front of a large stone fireplace. The delightful clean woodsy scent of the pine logs filled the room as they burned in the fireplace, whilst an oil lamp in the window, turned down low, cast a soft glow to the room. They looked out the window and saw a moonlit snow covered panorama. The snow covered ground untouched by any footprints. The pine trees covered with snow, with the glow from the cabin flowing out beyond the window, gave an extra magical effect to the scene, making it appear as if it had been lifted from a Hallmark Christmas card.

Tom and Rachel were both in their bare feet. Rachel took the opportunity to dig her toes into the lush fur of the bearskin rug, enjoying the pure sensual pleasure of it. It was clear that this cabin belonged to a hunter, judging from the presence of a couple of other soft fur throws lying on the furniture, near the rug.

Tom was still bare-chested in only his low slung scrub pants and Rachel still wore her Greek gown. They could both feel the heat from the fire, warming them as Tom grabbed a couple of the throws and they sat on the couch in front of the fire, the golden red glow in front the fireplace, playing in flickering shadows against their skin. Rachel's breath hitched as she traced the bronzed definition of his toned abdomen, chest and arm muscles with her fingers. Tom was reveling in the way the glow from the fire played against her exquisite body. He could actually see the reflection of the flames of the fire in her eyes, as they danced with a passion he had never seen there before. He pulled Rachel into his arms and held her against his bare chest, as he pulled the fur throws over them. The soft fur warmed them as he ran his hand over her shoulders and down her silken arms.

How long had he had to fight his desire to take her and hold her close and to experience her in his arms like this? Rachel melted into his embrace as if she was always meant to be there. His eyes grew darker and seemed to smolder with passion as she looked up into his handsome face… It felt like a little piece of heaven, but as much as he desired her, he did not want their first time to be in a dream. He bent his head and kissed her neck, saying," Rachel, I have longed to do this, but it was never the right time nor place. Even right now, as polite society sees it, there should be more time. I guess there will be, because of your injury, we will not be able to really be together completely, for a while, but I want you to remember this dream if you can." He paused and he looked at her, his stunning blue eyes taking on a deeper hue, as he said softly, "I care about you Rachel and I always have. Before you were shot, I could not let myself look at what I was feeling, because I felt it would have been disloyal to Darien, who I still love. She was my life, while she lived, Rachel. My feelings for you were something I had to tell myself was about a bond we had formed together because of working so close and because we were a team and because of the dangers we faced together. Then there was the Vyerni, when I first saw you, when I was handcuffed. When I thought you were there with me on that ship in so much danger from Ruskov, my emotions let me know the feelings I had for you were more than a bond. When you kissed me in passing the note, I could not stop kissing you, after the note was passed. My hunger for you, which I had denied, exploded within me and I could feel the same from you. Oh God, Rachel, when I thought that might be the last time we would ever be together, I could only continue kissing you until we were forcefully separated by the guards. Afterward, I was angry at Mike for letting you come. I was angry at myself for having those feelings for you. Most of all, I was furious at Ruskov, who was looking at you, as if he was undressing you in front of me, then looking at me with victory in his eyes. I could see it in his manner, he was thinking he had what was mine and now you were his and he relished the fact that I knew it. Until then, I knew I had a deep bond with you, but I loved my wife. I would not let myself think of it in terms of love. I could not do that, even after the kiss. I had to blame it on the danger of the moment and that we had to make it look real. The problem was that it was real, on both of our parts, no matter how much I tried to talk myself out of it. I flatly refused to see it that way, because, I truly did and still do love my wife, Rachel. You know that. If she had lived, I would never have betrayed her by sleeping with you or even by kissing you, even though in my dreams, sometimes it would happen and I would always awaken in a cold sweat, with your name on my lips. If she had lived, I never would have admitted this to you or even to myself.

When I saw Darien, today, I knew I still loved her and always would love her. She made me realize that loving someone new, would not lessen the love that she and I shared. I can see now that love is infinite and unending.

Rachel, I wanted to kiss you, when we were together in the hallway of the hotel, outside of my room, but it was too soon, for propriety. There has been too much of that bonding between us. I knew I wanted it to be more and I know you did also. I prayed that you would understand why I could not kiss you then and I told you to find me when you got back.

Rachel, when you were shot, I had to face the fact that you might not live. I knew that no matter how little time had passed since my wife's death, I could not face life without you.

I want us to be together. Will you wait for me Rachel? Please say you will give us a chance. Will you do that, Rachel? I want you to get to know my children better and for them to know you. I know they will love you too. "

Rachel touched his face and she looked into his troubled blue eyes, filled with so much caring for her. "Oh Tom, are you saying that you love me?"

He rasped huskily, "Yes Rachel, I love you, so very much."

Rachel put her arms around his neck and pulled his head to her. She breathed, "Tom, you know I will wait for you. I don't ever want to leave you, at least not for long. You are the only man I want. I understand we will have to be careful, but know there is no one who could take your place with me and I will wait, no matter how long I have to wait. I do so hope your children will accept me."

He held her even closer. Then suddenly he felt her body quiver, as if she were in pain. "Tom, I fear we do not have much more time. We both will awaken from the anesthetic soon. We have to be grateful that we were given this wonderful opportunity to actually share this experience. Perhaps we can do it again, but for now, I am so glad we had this time together."

"I am also, but someday, I will bring you to this place in reality. I want to make love to you on this rug, in front of the fire, but it will be real when I bring you here. I do not want our first time to be in a dream and besides there is not enough time, before we have to go back. I hope we will remember this. We must remember."

Rachel said, "Oh Tom, I am beginning to feel pain in my shoulder now. I must be regaining consciousness."

"Yes, I am becoming so cold, Rachel. What are they doing?" Tom inquired.

She said gently, "They are trying to get your temperature down, love and you are not going to like what they have to do. They put you in a kind of ice blanket. I am sure you will absolutely hate that, but it may have to be done, until they can get your temperature down, sweetheart. Tom, I think we have to go back now. Take my hand, Tom. I love you."

Taking her hand in his, he took one last look at her, bathed in the firelight and he said, huskily, "Rachel, I love you too.

Clasping her body to his and placing his lips against her ear, he whispered passionately, Rachel….Remember…...Remember…."

XXXXX

Rachel awoke to the stabbing pains in her upper body. It took her breath away for a moment before she said, "Tom, are you here. Did you make it back?"

She felt a soft hand on her forehead and slowly her vision cleared. A young nurse was standing above her, smiling. "Dr. Scott, you are awake. I know you are feeling a great deal of pain, but you are safe here in our hospital and you are going to be fine. I will give you something for your pain shortly. We are going to take good care of you."

Rachel said, "Where is the Captain? Is he alright? I dreamed that he almost died. Please God; tell me he is still alive."

An older nurse came over at that moment. "Dr. Scott, don't worry, the Captain is right here in the bed, next to yours. The doctor said it would be better for both of you to be in the same room. He is still unconscious. He came out of surgery later than you did."

Rachel said, "Please nurse, will you pull the curtain back so I can see him?"

The nurse said, "I am sure it will be okay since you are a doctor. We are treating him for the high fever. We are using the cooling blanket."

The head nurse pulled the curtain back and Rachel saw that Tom was covered with an ice blanket and had not regained consciousness. She knew he was already feeling the cold, so she knew he would be regaining consciousness soon. She thought it was her duty to warn the nurse if she did not know about what could happen with military patients.

Rachel said in a somewhat weakened voice, "You are the head nurse?"

The nurse nodded her head, "Yes, Doctor Scott. What can I do to make you more comfortable?"

Rachel answered, "Oh, I think I need to let you know how I can help you. If you have the Captain under the ice blanket, you had better put him in restraints. He will not like the ice, I can assure you and he is a highly trained Navy SEAL. Even though he has just had surgery, all of them have been trained to kill, nurse and when he wakes up he may still be delirious or groggy. You have no idea of what he is capable of doing. I once tried to take his pulse when he was sleeping and I ended up with a black eye and I was very lucky he came to his senses, because he had up ended me and was ready to throttle me. But that is another story. It happened after we were both captured by the Russians.

The nurse looked horrified, "Oh my, should I call the orderly?"

Rachel laughed, "No, an orderly would not have a chance. Are there any Navy guards that the Captain left to guard this room?"

The nurse said, "Yes, there are a whole bunch of them, outside the door."

Rachel said, "Please have at least two of them come in here now."

The nurse opened the door and spoke to the guards for a moment. Danny and Burke came in with the Master Chief. They took a look at their Captain and then at Dr. Scott, who they could see was awake. They quickly came to her bedside.

Rachel thanked them quickly for all they had done to help her and then explained what she was afraid would happen if the Captain awakened with that ice blanket over him. She said he needs to be put in restraints, but I want two of you to hold him down so that the Nurse can put the restraints on his wrists. She said, "We don't want any more black eyes or worse happening to the staff here before he comes to his senses, now do we, gentleman?. He is already almost awake, hurry."

All of the crew knew about how Dr. Scott had accidentally been given a black eye by the Captain, shortly after they had all returned from the Vyerni. It was the talk of the whole ship, much to the dismay of its Captain. It was a story told over and over, but never within earshot of the Captain himself. No one wanted to be walking tours for a month.

Rachel herself knew a part of that story that no one else knew about, except the Captain and it would remain "their little secret".

The three men walked over to the bed after the head nurse had attached the restraints to the bed. On the count of three, Danny and Burke came down on the Captains arms holding him to the bed. His head was already going from side to side and he was mumbling about Rachel. As soon as they touched him, he reacted violently. Even the Master Chief was helping by holding his legs down.

Tom gasped in shock when he suddenly awakened to the stunning cold of the ice blanket which had been placed over his body and found himself in combat with three people trying to hold him down. He was freezing cold and he was in terrible pain from his abdomen. He was disoriented and did not know where he was. It felt like someone had cut him open very deep. He tried to use his hands to push his attackers off, when he realized they were holding his wrists to the bed and he was being put in restraints. His eyes were blurred but were beginning to come into focus. He yelled. "Bloody hell, you Son of a Bitch, Get off of me." His eyesight had cleared and he suddenly realized he had been held down by Danny and Burk. Then he saw that the Master Chief and realized that he had held down his legs. He was unable to move at all and now he realized his wrists had been put in restraints and he could only lie there. His face burned, but his body was so cold he felt like he was being tortured. Shivering, his body quaking, he bellowed, "Danny, Burke, What the hell are you doing? Get this God Dammed Ice thing off me!"

Danny blurted out, "Sir, Burke, Cruz and I stayed when Wolf and Miller came over to relieve us. Master Chief Jeter is also here. We did not want to leave until we were sure you and Dr. Scott would be out of recovery and in a stable situation. Sir, we cannot take the ice blanket off of you, because the nurses are trying to get your temperature down."

The Captain blinked trying to clear his mind, without a lot of success. He was still disoriented. "Rachel, where are you, Rachel?"

The Captain looked at Danny, his blue eyes dazed and bright with fever. He was furious that his orders were not being followed. "Danny, get me out of these restraints. That's an order, sailor!"

Because of the force of the Captain's order and because of Danny's habit of instantly obeying his commands, Danny put his hands on the straps. Then, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Dr. Scott spoke forcefully, her commanding voice cutting through the fracas.

.

"Captain Chandler, Now, you stop all of this arguing and ordering people around. I am your doctor and you are going to follow my orders right now. You are going to lie there and do what the nurse tells you to do. They are trying to help you get better. I know you are hurting and you are cold, but you are going to lie still and I am right here in this room with you to make sure you do it. Do you hear me Captain?"

You could have heard a pin drop in the room, except for the Captain shivering. "Rachel, you are here with me? Are you alright, Rachel", he said, his voice cracking.

Her voice softened. It had taken all of her strength to give him the order she'd given him. She fell back onto her pillows. "Yes, love, I am here with you. Now do as the nurse tells you."

The nurse said to the three sailors, "Thank you gentleman, for your help. You can see he is not in any shape to be giving orders. We will be giving him warmed blankets very soon, but he has to have the ice blanket until his temperature comes down a bit more."

She looked at the Captain, who was a bit more subdued but still glaring at her. He huffed, trying to keep his teeth from chattering, "I am alright now, nurse."

It took all of the control he had to remain calm as he rasped, "Now, if you will be so kind as to get these restraints off of me."

The nurse, used to difficult patients, said firmly, "Captain, I see that you understand what I am saying. I will take the restraints off, but you must promise me you will not take the blanket off, until I tell you. You will also not leave your bed. Is that clear, Captain? I need to take your temperature to make sure it is low enough to start the warming blanket." She put a thermometer between his lips and told him to hold it under his tongue.

Tom huffed again in frustration, trying to control himself, as he clamped the thermometer under his tongue, nodding to her that he would do as she asked. Rachel had been right. He did not like it. It was painfully cold and extremely so, since he had been so hot. Now he was freezing cold and being in restraints so he could do nothing about it was very hard to accept.

She took the thermometer from his mouth, read it and nodded at Danny, who quickly removed the Captain's wrists from the restraints.

The head nurse took the cooling blanket off of him, leaving him naked. She and the other two nurses gently turned him to the side and placed a large blue plastic blanket, filled with heated air, on the bed and turned him back over so that he was lying on the blanket on his back. The nurses wrapped him up with the strange blanket which was large enough to cover even his 6 ft. 1 body, up to his neck and to cover his feet as well. The head nurse, who had been so firm, looked at the Captain, knowing full well, his role in saving everyone she loved from the Red Flu and she placed a gentle palm on his forehead, saying, "We call this the bear hugger, Captain. I am sure you will be more comfortable now. I am sorry we had to use the cooling blanket, but your temperature was so high, we were afraid you would go into convulsions and that would have not been good because of your recent surgery. Now the antibiotics and other medication we have been giving you are starting to take effect and your temperature will come back to normal in the next couple of days. You will feel discomfort from your incision, but just tell us and we will give you additional pain relief via the IV in your arm. Try not to dislodge it. I am sorry we had to restrain you, Captain, but Dr. Scott warned us that with military men, such as yourself, who have surgery, we must take extra precautions. We could not take a chance with our nurses. Dr. Scott told us that with your training, you might tend to react to the slightest touch, sometimes with killing force, before you had regained full consciousness. In your case you were also delirious. We had to do some things which no one would like done to them, so we had to restrain you for a while. Are you feeling warmer now, Captain?"

Tom was gratefully relishing the warm cozy blanket radiating the wonderful warmth through his body. He could feel the pain from his incision, but at least he was warm. It felt so good, he was afraid he would fall asleep. He could not do that until he knew that Rachel was alright. He answered the head nurse, "Yes, this is helping so much. I am getting warm again. Thank you."

He turned his head to the left and saw Rachel in the bed next to his own. She was lying there with her eyes closed. Her upper body on the right side was covered with bandages. She looked so peaceful there. He did not want to wake her.

He turned back to his men. He thanked the Master Chief for waiting with him and then waiting for him to be back from his own surgery. The Master Chief said, "The angels were with you and Dr. Scott tonight, Captain."

Tom nodded, "One day, when I am well again, we will talk about what happened tonight, Master Chief. Yes, there are some things that happened that you need to know about.

Danny, you Burke and Cruz better get back to the hotel and get some sleep. Wolf and Miller will keep a close watch on this room. We don't want anyone else taking a potshot at Dr. Scott. I may need to speak with you a bit later. I need to speak to the XO, when he is available."

After his men had left the room, Tom lay back on his pillows, still looking to his left at Rachel. He could never get enough of her. He saw that she was propped up with pillows, so that her injured right arm was supported. Her eyes were closed and she still looked beautiful, though very fragile. He looked at the head nurse and she knew he wanted to know her condition. Under normal circumstances, she would never discuss another person's condition with someone not in the family, but everyone knew how close the Captain was to Dr. Scott, after what the whole staff had witnessed with both of them before and after surgery. She took a deep breath and proceeded to answer what was upmost in the mind of the Captain, who was looking at her with the most mesmerizing beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. She thought no wonder Dr. Scott was in love with him. Though she was a nurse, she had also not been oblivious to the Captain's magnificent body.

"Captain, she is under heavy pain sedation. She had been in and out of consciousness and actually awakened for a bit before you did. You were in surgery while she was in recovery, but her wounds were complicated and they will take a while to heal completely. She will need to go through physical therapy for a number of months, but the doctor says she will pull through and eventually be as good as new. She said your name when she awakened. I told her you were not fully conscious yet.

She also asked to see you. I pulled the curtain back for her and she saw the treatment we were giving you. Dr. Scott told me that you would not like that ice blanket and that I had better put you in restraints."

The nurse quipped, "It seems she knows you very well, Captain."

He looked down, a slight smile crossed his lips as he admitted sheepishly, "Yes, ma'am, that she does. Do you know when she will wake up again?"

She said sympathetically, "It may be a while Captain, I don't know for sure. We just gave her some pain medication. Now for you, Captain. I think we can take you out of the bare hugger and put regular blankets and sheets over you. Jenny and Maggie, help me with the Captain."

The other two nurses got the Captain out of the "bear hugger" and he felt the cool air on his naked body. One of the nurses had a hospital gown which she helped him into from the front. She pulled up the top sheet over him, followed by a couple of pre-warmed blankets. These were pulled up to his chest and over his arms, to make sure he was now warm enough. He felt himself feeling very drowsy but he knew he did not want to sleep. He needed to speak to Mike and he needed to speak to the doctor about Rachel. He asked the nurse for a cup of coffee because he was falling asleep. And she laughed. "No Captain, you are feeling sleepy, because we just gave you a sedative in your IV. The doctor says you need to sleep and give your body some time to heal. When you wake up again, maybe we can get you out of bed.

The Captain tried to protest, saying "No, damn it, I need to know if she remembers. I do not want to sleep now." He tried to rip his IV out of his arm, but the head nurse spoke soothingly to him and kept him from doing that. He was protesting more, when he heard Rachel say, "Tom, I told you not to give the nurses a hard time. Now, go to sleep my love. Tom ...I remember….I remember, love. We will talk more when you wake up again."

He had heard her say the words he had been waiting for. He tried to answer her back but the words would not form and were slurred and impossible to understand. The next thing he knew he was waking up to hearing Rachel calling his name. His eyes opened and he immediately felt the pain from his abdomen, but that was secondary. He looked to his left and saw that his beautiful Rachel was fully awake looking at him with a soft smile on her face. "Rachel, you are awake. You must be in a lot of pain. I did not want them to put me out again. I wanted to be here for you when you woke up. You said you remembered…Did you really remember, Rachel? I remember all of it." Rachel smiled at him saying "I wanted to be awake for you. Welcome back. Oh, yes, of course I am hurting. I was shot, but as long as you are with me, I know I will get better as soon as I can make it happen. You will recover much faster than I will, since you do not have bone damage.

I am just glad that I am alive and that you are too. I came so close to losing you, Tom. How different I would have felt waking up without you, my love."

He spoke softly, so only the two of them could hear. "Rachel, I am going to do everything I can to make sure we never lose each other. I have to work on a plan and as you well know, I am pretty good at that. I will wait for you to heal and you take all the time you need. I will still be here for you. You will not need to be in the hospital for long and I certainly will not. I do not know where I will be living as yet, but wherever it is, you will be near. I will make sure of that.

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If anyone is curious about how the Captain gave Dr. Scott a black eye, you should read the first 3 chapters of my first story "Their Little Secret" which began just after they returned from the Vyerni last season and goes on from there. There is lots of Tom/Rachel interaction. The story of how this happened is in the first chapter, but the results of it go for about 3 chapters more. It is quite interesting and is the chapter from which the title comes. Enjoy.

I wish to thank Scousedancer for her Editing skills and the girls from the hangout for their encouragement.

Please let me know if you like the way the story is going and if you have any ideas about where it should go from here. I love to hear new ideas and reviews are the only way we writers know whether you all like the work we are doing. Thanks again for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Note. Thanks for all of my loyal readers and for the wonderful people who took the time to review my writing. I do so appreciate your comments and to know how you like the story. Thanks to Scousedancer, my beta for keeping me on track. Sorry you had to wait a while for this new Chapter. Next update will not be so long in coming.

Over the course of this first day after the Captain and Rachael were beginning their respective recoveries, there was very little time in which they were alone in the hospital room. Dr. Rios and Dr. Connors were in and out of the room checking on both of their patients. The nurses were kept in line by the tough as nails Head Nurse, Nurse Parker, who kept them from spending too much time flitting around the room, especially around the Captain, fluffing his pillows change his hospital gown or to bathe him. The Captain was impatient to get up and to be able to be closer to Rachel and to the business at hand. He wanted to make sure his people were protected and to say he was grumpy was an understatement.

Rachel was in a great deal of pain with her injuries and required a lot of sleep, so she was in and out of consciousness. It did not make him feel any better, when he was finally able to make his way to her bed and was able to hold her hand for a minute or two before the nurse told him, he could not stay there. They were only letting him get up to go to the bathroom, until the doctor said he could walk longer distances. He had squeezed her hand and as he turned away from her, she noticed that his hospital gown was gapping in back, because his shoulders were so broad. She smiled impishly as she caught a very enticing view of his muscular, smooth, tight, toned and very seductive bottom. She was oh so tempted to reach out and touch him, he was so close. Instead, she stifled a giggle, which he heard of course. He turned back around to see what was so funny. Much to his shock, she was pointing at him, barely able to contain her laughter. With great difficulty she was able to spout, "Oh Tom..., Your hospital gown...when you walk…., is exposing your...your... naked bottom, sweetheart. That is very naughty of you, love. It is no wonder you have the nurses in such a tizzy."

He turned a bright red, frowning and clutched at the back of the gown trying to hold it in place, as he made his way to the bathroom, making sure the nurse, who was trying to maintain a straight face, was in front of him. He almost lost control of himself when he heard Rachel say the words, "bottom" and "naughty" with that British accent of hers. How could she manage to affect him this way? Here she was in that bed, having just been shot and all he could think of was making love to her. He looked down and realized those two words out of her mouth, with that accent, directed at him, caused his blood to rush south to a certain particular part of his body, at the thought. He knew he had to get control of himself, which he did manage to do with great difficulty.

The hospital did not have showers for patients. They were both given sponge baths. Needless to say, the Captain did not like being incapacitated in the least, but he had little choice. He also did not want to be away from Rachel. Dr. Connors gave his order that the Captain should walk down the hall for a short distance a few times that first day. His fever was down for the most part, but he was not allowed to be doing too much walking. When he did walk in the hall, he was to be escorted by a Navy SEAL and the other two guards would still be stationed outside of the hospital room in order to guard Rachel.

Tom was most definitely not having a good day. Whilst he wanted to get up and walk, he absolutely refused to walk down the hall in just a hospital gown, exposing his backside, as Rachel so laughingly had informed him, earlier. He still had no boxers. He asked for the scrubs he'd been given the day before, but they had been taken to the laundry. One of the young nurses, anxious to please him, managed to get a new pair of scrub pants for him. The nurse was still searching for a scrub top in his size. The shirt that came with the pants was too small in the shoulders for him. He quickly put the pants on and got back in bed, without his shirt, awaiting her return.

It was at this time, about 10AM, that Mike and the Master Chief walked in. Mike was carrying one of the Captain's uniforms along with a duffel bag with other items he'd picked up from the Captain's hotel room. This included several pair of boxers, socks, sweatpants and a T-shirt. "Well Tom, It looks like you are doing better this morning, but you do seem to need this change of clothing that we brought you. I brought you a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt to wear while you are here in the hospital. Those should be a little warmer than what they gave you here.

The Captain huffed, "Thanks, Mike. I sure needed something to put on, other than hospital garb. They have me up already so I should be well and out of here very soon. For now, I am with Rachel in this room, so that is good. She will not be released as soon as I will, but I will be keeping an eye out for her until she is free to leave as well. Mike I need you to tell Michener that I need to see him as soon as possible. I need to make sure that Rachel is never left unprotected again."

Dr. Rios came in and hearing what the Captain said, hurried to correct it. "Commander, the Captain will not be leaving the hospital for a few days. He flat lined in surgery last night and Dr. Connors wants to keep a close eye on his numbers and his condition before he releases him from care."

Tom's eyebrow raised and he tossed his hand as if batting a fly. "I am fine, Mike. It is Rachel that we have to watch out for. I want to make sure personally that she is safe and cared for by people who know her and care about her."

The curtain was separating Rachel's side of the room as the nurses were changing her bandages and she had been given a sponge bath. At this point, one of the nurses pulled the curtain back and the Captain and the two visitors could now see Rachel lying in the bed, which was slightly raised so she could be propped up by pillows. "Well hello, gentleman. I could hear you talking about me, so I had to join the conversation as soon as they finished with the bandages."

Mike and the Master Chief stepped up to Rachel's bed and Mike grabbed her left hand. "Rachel, you are so important to our crew and to the whole world. I was given the duty by the crew to make sure you know how sorry they all are that this happened to you. I think you have no idea how precious you are to us all."

She looked into Mike's eyes and could see his honesty. Tom said, "Oh, I think she has a pretty good idea of how much she means to us."

Mike looked at the admiration and love in the eyes of his Captain and could see Rachel was well aware of how much she meant to a certain someone.

The Captain quickly put on the NJ T-shirt that had been provided by Mike and was very happy that he would never have to put on another hospital gown. "Mike, I need a briefing about what has been done to secure the hotel and to see to the President's security."

Mike turned back to the Captain, "Yes, the President is secure and by the way, he was planning to visit you both today sometime. He was extremely upset at the breach in security that allowed that immune to get into the hotel. He blames himself for releasing Dr. Scott's security guard."

The Captain frowned, knowing that he was planning to give Michener a piece of his mind regarding taking her guards away.

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the sound of automatic gunfire, not very far away. Rachel screamed, "Oh no, not again, Tom."

The door to the room burst open and Wolf rushed in. "Sir, the hospital is under attack by a group of well armed men who are battling the troupes that were stationed out front. We need to get all of you out of here, now."

The Captain had jumped out of bed at the first sound of gunfire and was already at Rachel's bedside, getting ready to pick her up. Nurse Parker ordered him, "No Captain, you can't pick her up!"

Just as he had leaned into the bed to do just that, Mike pulled him back saying, "Tom, it's ok, I'll carry Rachel, I've got her."

Mike, the big bear of man he was, carefully lifted Rachel, blanket and all, cradling her against his massive chest, as he carried her out of the room. Nurse Parker was gathering up medication, bandages and whatever else she thought they would need. Dr Rios and the Master Chief were following closely behind Mike, each supporting the Captain, one on each side of him. He was bare footed and there was no time to put on shoes. The Captain was surprised to see that Danny and the other SEALs' had come back to the hospital with Mike. The Captain wanted a gun, but there was no time to arm him as well.

Wolf barked, "Sir, the attackers are at the main entrance and probably the rear as well. We can go through the kitchen in the basement. "

Mike was on the com with the helo on the roof and told them to be awaiting the emergency evacuation of the Captain, Dr. Scott, medical personnel, as well as all of their own people. He said to Nurse Parker, "Ma'am, will you come with us? We may need your help in caring for Dr. Scott and the Captain. Dr. Rios will be with us and I don't think it is safe for us to leave you here."

She quickly agreed and was already carrying any supplies she had been able to throw into the duffle bag that Mike had brought for the Captain. They all managed to get into the service elevators, which were in a different place from the regular bank of elevators. They could still hear gunfire and it sounded like some of it was inside the hospital. Some of them may have broken through. They took the elevator to the basement. Mike was carrying Rachel as carefully as he could, considering how fast they had to move. The Captain was walking as fast as he could with difficulty, considering his own injuries. The Master Chief and Dr. Rios were helping him. He was running on adrenalin because there is no way he would have been able to walk this distance under normal circumstances with his recent surgery.

Rachel's head was resting on Mike's chest like a child in her father's arms. He could feel her body quivering. She was reliving being shot. Mike instinctively held her close whispering to her, "Rachel, you are going to be alright, darlin. Just hang in there. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. The Captain is right behind me. We are going to get you both to a safe place. Now don't you worry."

Rachel was clutching his shirt with her left hand, "Thanks Mike, Thank God you were here. Tom would have tried to pick me up, I know he would and that might have ended up killing him as deep as his wound is. He has absolutely no sense when it comes to keeping me safe."

Mike whispered, "I know Rachel, but I have to keep you both safe and I would not let him do that. We can't afford to lose either of you."

Once they reached the kitchens, the SEALS cleared a pathway, to the other side of the building. There was another service elevator which was used for delivering meals to the upper areas of the hospital. It took two trips up the elevator to get all of their people to the top floor. They then took the stairs to the roof. Danny and another SEAL carried the Captain up the stairs. He hated being carried, but he was about at the end of his strength and was feeling light headed. The door was open and the helo was waiting for them. The SEALs' and Wolf got everyone aboard the helo. Mike handed Rachel up to the personnel on the helo and she was put onto a stretcher. The Captain was put aboard next, with the nurse and Doctor and then everyone else piled in. The helo took off, just as the attackers reached the roof. Wolf and the Seals fired into the group of attackers as soon as they dared move onto the roof. The helo was out of site before they could get off more than a few shots.

The Captain had been put on a stretcher, but he moved to Rachel. She was sitting up, not being able to lay flat because of her injury. He moved in and sat behind her and gently pulled her back so that he was cradling her in his strong arms. He adjusted his position, so she wasn't leaning directly on his incision. Nurse Parker came over to them, pulling Rachel's blanket up so that it was covering her. She reached up and put another blanket over the Captain's shoulders, trying to take care of both of her patients. Rachel now felt safe in Tom's arms, even though her body was still quivering in shock. He was careful to hold her so that her left shoulder was supported while he did not touch her right upper body where her injury was. He keened softly, "Rachel. You are going to be alright. I'm here, baby."

Mike received a com message that the Hotel was under fire as well. The president and his people had been evacuated to the EMEVAC (Emergency Evac) Location. Mike gave orders to take the Helo to the EMEVAC Location as well. This was a fully staffed Emergency Location which they had found for just this type of a situation. The White house had underground safe areas, but there was no such place for the current administration. This location had been found and was very well guarded and was refitted as a fortress. It was formerly a vacation resort for the very wealthy, high in the mountains. It was completely fitted out with suites and medical facilities, kitchens, dining rooms, offices and meeting rooms, swimming pools and landing strips for planes and a helo pad. The Captain had not even heard anything about this, but evidently, Michener was well ahead of him in what was needed for the security of his staff.

The Captain demanded information, "Mike, what about our crew staying at the hotel? Are they all under attack and all of us, the command personnel are being evacuated? Who the hell is in command there, Mike?"

Mike said, "We have the hotel completely on lockdown and guarded by military and Special Forces. I got a message from COM that they have fought the attackers off and everything is under control again. Many of the enemy has been captured. It seems these are not immunes. They seem to be a rogue group of North Koreans and some Chinese. As soon as I drop you and Dr. Scott off to join Michener, I will get back to the hotel and start interrogating those prisoners. It was a coordinated attack. We think the attack on the hospital was to capture Dr. Scott. Tom, I will keep you posted."

Tom huffed, "Mike, I want to be armed here, myself. You never know if a single person or a traitor could get close to her and as long as I am armed, then I could protect her. I will need a leg holster as well."

Mike responded, "Consider it done. Danny, give him your leg holster and gun. I will replace it as soon as we get back to the hotel. You have Special Forces on duty here Captain. If you want to keep Wolf and Cruz here to be on guard for the two of you personally, I think that would be a good idea. I will send Danny and Burk to relieve them. You keep Dr. Rios here with you and I will keep Dr. Milowski at the hotel. The hospital is now secure, though we had some injuries there and a couple of fatalities in the hospital staff. Do you want us to fly Dr. Connors up here to oversee Rachel's injuries and yours?"

The Captain looked over at Nurse Parker and Dr. Rios, were was standing over him and Rachel as he held her. "Do you think Dr. Connor needs to see Rachel directly over the next few days or do you think you can speak to him over the COM and let him know how she is doing and get his instructions about her care?"

Dr. Rios answered, "Yes Captain, I can converse with him about both Dr. Scott's condition, as well as your own. He will probably be able to give me instructions without seeing you both directly and I will be here, so we should be okay without his presence.

Nurse Parker said "He is the main surgeon at the hospital these days and they probably need him urgently there, unless we had major complications here, which should not happen as long as I can keep you, Captain, from trying to carry Dr. Scott to safety, while splitting your stitches again."

The Captain huffed, "Hopefully that will not be necessary. I plan to be up and around very soon, Nurse Parker."

She quipped, "Yes Captain and you are about ready to drop in your tracks now and I am sure Dr. Rios will agree that you have had enough exercise today. You need to be back in bed, once we land."

The Captain hated to admit it, but he was still light headed and he did not want to pass out. After the helo landed, Nurse Parker had him move out from behind Dr. Scott and she put a couple of pillows behind Dr. Scott so she could lie down on the stretcher, propped up a bit. She pointed to the stretcher that had been provided for the Captain and told him to lie down on it. When he started to protest that he could walk, Rachel said, "Tom, must you always give the nurses and doctors a hard time? Just lie down on that stretcher, love and maybe Nurse Parker will let us be in the same room again."

Nurse Parker grinned at Dr. Scott and quipped, "Yes, indeed, Captain. If you behave yourself, I will have you taken to the same room as Dr. Scott. I do not know if they have a sick bay or medical area here, but I am certain we can arrange it, if you cooperate with me Captain. Will you do that, Sir?"

The Captain gave her one of his hard looks, but there was a sparkle of laughter in those blue eyes, when, after a dramatic pause, he huffed," Yes, Ma'am".

xxxxxxx

An hour later, The Captain and Rachel had been moved into a room that had been equipped with two hospital beds. This room also had a bathroom with a shower, which the Captain was happy to see. He did not like being bathed. He wanted a real shower, which he would be allowed to have at this location.

Rachel would not be able to take a shower without help and she wasn't strong enough to stand for that long yet. She was, however determined to get stronger as soon as possible.

She was very disturbed by what had happened to her when shots rang out at the hospital. She was in utter shock to see how frightened she had become when the shooting started. She had started shaking like a leaf and she was quite aware of the fact that she had screamed when the firing started. She did not want to admit how insecure she felt when she thought about how she was shot. She tried very hard not to think about it, as If not owning up to the fact that she was afraid of something for the first time in her life, would take the fear away. She remembered how she had laid her head on Mike's chest as he carried her, grasping the material of his uniform in her fist. She had felt like a child in his arms, in total need of protection from the danger all around her. He'd felt it and had held her closer to reassure her.

The Captain had always been her protection, but now she knew that Mike would also move heaven and earth to protect her, if she needed it. Someplace inside, she felt warm and comforted to know that, in reality, the whole crew of the Nathan James would be there for her, because she had been there for all of them. Now she was one of them, even though she wore no uniform. She was as much a part of that ship and the Nathan James family as any one of them. Of all things, she felt at one with her Captain and she was beginning to believe he felt the same about her. They needed to talk alone and they had not done that since the dream.

There was no buzzer system, but Nurse Parker was given a Communication device and both the Captain and Dr. Scott had one so that they could reach whoever they needed to speak with. Nurse Parker was given a room just down the hall from this room, as was Dr. Rios. Rachel was happy to see that the Nurse would not be staying overnight with them in the hospital room as she or one of the other nurses had been at the hospital. They were both out of danger now, though they were watching Rachel closely for blood clots or any other complications. She also had to make sure that she was moving on a regular basis.

As for the Captain, it was all the nurse could do to keep him from just getting up and taking care of business as usual, though he was constantly demanding briefings from the various teams he had out.

The President came to visit them in the sick bay area. Tom was not very happy with him for dismissing Rachel's guards, but he could not tell him what he really wanted to say until he could be alone with him. In fact he had several things he needed to discuss with the President. Michener had heard the stories of what had happened at the hospital and about what was circulating about the relationship between the Captain and Dr. Scott. To say he was surprised was an understatement. Because of the anger and feelings of betrayal that the Captain had expressed when Dr. Scott was being accused of killing Neils, he did not pick up on the fact that the Captain had closer feelings for Rachel and that this was a good part of why the feelings of betrayal were so strong. He could see the way that the Captain looked at him when he came to visit them and he knew he needed to speak with Tom, away from Dr. Scott. There were some things that needed to be cleared up, before they would be able to get down to what they needed to do about the country and he needed all of his men, especially this man, who he trusted above all others, to be of one accord with him.

Michener let them both know how pleased he was that they had survived their respective emergency surgeries and were back on the mend. He assured Rachel that he would still have work for her to do when she had recovered and to take as long as she needed and not to rush anything.

He looked directly at the Captain. "Tom, I know you are not well enough to come to my quarters yet, but when you are, I know we have some things to discuss. I did want to tell you that both the hospital and the hotel have been secured, so after we determine exactly who we are up against in the attackers, we will be returning, but not until we have fortified the facilities. I do not want any of our people at risk. We will probably have to have a secured area within St. Louis, with fences, so for now, this will be our headquarters. The hospital will be in close proximity and will also be part of the large complex which will be enclosed within the perimeter of that "safe area", somewhat like a military base compound, until things are clearer. I also want the housing for you and all of our government personnel to be in a safely guarded area area, where I can be sure all family members will be secure. You and I will discuss this further when you are able to come to the planning area within my office area, Tom, as soon as you are feeling up to it."

Tom retorted, " Mr. President, I would like to see you as soon as possible, today would be fine, Sir. I could come to your office within the hour, Sir."

Michener laughed, "Although I am impressed with your desire to get back to work, Tom, Dr. Rios tells me that he could not release you to any kind of meetings with me until at least tomorrow. You just escaped from the hospital and the transport here was no small feat in your condition. Dr. Rios said you need sleep for today. He said that you could see me tomorrow. How about 1PM, Tom. We could have a lunch meeting."

Michener smiled and shook the Captain's hand. "As much as I would like to see you today, Sir, I guess I am out voted. Tomorrow at 1 PM, I will be there, Sir. You can count on it." Tom said sharply.

Dr. Rios came in an examined both Rachel and the Captain, with Nurse Parker in attendance. Rachel was in a great deal of pain and had to be given medication for that as well as sedation. She must have time to heal and that meant more sleep.

The Captain was anxious to get back to work. He wanted to make sure Rachel was going to be okay, but he was not one to be lying around waiting. Rachel said to him, "Tom, the only way they are going to get you to rest is to knock you out."

He did remember that he had almost passed out on the way to the helo that morning. The nurse gave him some pills to take, which were suppose to be antibiotics, but he fell fast to sleep after taking them. Later, when he awakened, feeling a bit groggy, he suspected that he had been tricked into getting the sleep he needed. He did have to admit he felt better, when he and Rachel were having their dinner. Finally, they had a chance to talk alone.

He had gotten out of bed and sat down on her bed and had brought his tray of food with him. They ate as they talked. The food was very good, cooked by the staff at the resort, nothing like hospital food. He spoke sincerely as he looked into her eyes. "Rachel, finally we can spend some time together alone. I hope you remember what we dreamed together, if that was a dream. It almost seemed like an out of body experience, but we had it together and I think that is very rare. The fact that we both remember it is pretty remarkable, don't you think?"

Rachel placed her hand on his and said, "Tom, love, it was quite remarkable, when you think about it. You actually died on the operating table and they brought you back. That is why you were so close to going into the light. I was in recovery and unconscious and somehow we heard each other and were able to come together. I don't think it was a dream because we both actually saw what was going on right then."

Tom responded as his eyes sought hers in awe, "Rachel, that means I did not dream about seeing and speaking with Darien. It was real, I knew it was real. I just don't understand how it happened. I actually got a chance to say goodbye. It was real, Rachel. It was not a dream."

The dream part may have been the cabin. We dreamed that together or we traveled there. I wonder if we can find it again, if we can ever dream together again," she whispered.

"Oh, I think we can. That is a place I know. I know where it is. I am not sure how it happened. It must be that we have such a close connection, Rachel. I do care about you, more than you would ever believe," he said, looking deeply into her eyes.

Rachel was mesmerized as she looked into the blue depths of his eyes and into his spirit. In truth, she almost felt she was part of his spirit, almost joined to it. That must be why it happened, she thought. She spoke softly, but with great depth of feeling, "Tom. I think I would not let myself admit, how much I care about you, also. I would never have wanted to come between you and your love for Darien. I never could, I know that. Tom, you asked me to wait for you. I want you to know that I will wait for you for as long as it takes for you to be comfortable being with me. You asked me to find you, when I returned. You can be sure that I would have moved heaven and earth to find you, when I got back. As it was, I found you when you were in surgery and you needed me. You were calling for me and somehow, I heard you, even when I was in recovery. That has to mean something, Tom. I don't understand what it is between us, why all this happened, but whatever it is, I want to find out. I have to find out."

Tom said, "Rachel, I also want to know. I know it was not a random thing. I believe it means something also. We will find it Rachel, we will no matter how long it takes. We just have to get you well again. "

She said, as if suddenly returning to the present. "Did you get through to your father and the children today? "

He huffed, "No, not yet. The communications are not set up from here yet. Perhaps tomorrow, I can check with Michener. When I get them, I will let them know they will be moving here. I will have to get them started packing. I have to know this is a safe place. I can't wait for you to be able to spend more time with them, Rachel. I know they will love you, but give yourself time to recover a bit first."

He could see that she was tiring and the pain meds she was getting were causing her to need to rest. He kissed her forehead and moved the trays away from her bed. He tucked her into bed and gently ran his fingertips along the beautiful lines of her cheek, and her lips, lingering there - he desperately wanted to kiss those lips, but he stopped himself from doing that and again kissed her good night on the forehead. She smiled, sighed and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He quietly turned out the reading light in her area and went back to his own bed. He read some reports for a while. He got out of bed and went to take a hot shower, savoring the feel of the spray as it hit his skin. Whilst he'd recognized the need for sponge baths, he could safely say he hated them passionately. He relaxed and let the hot water hit his shoulders. He got out, dried himself and put on his sweatpants. He did not bother with a T-shirt. He found it a bit warm in the room and decided to sleep with his shirt off. The attendants came in quietly and took the trays away. He read some more of the reports that Mike had brought him and he made notes about what he would want to discuss tomorrow. Nurse Parker gave him his medication and she waited until he looked like he had swallowed it, As soon as she had turned away, he spit them out and took out the one he now knew was the sedative. He quickly swallowed the rest of them. He took the sedative and put it in his bedside table drawer, noting that his handgun was also in that drawer, should he need it in a hurry. He then turned out his reading light and fell asleep.

xxxxxx

Suddenly, In the middle of the night, Tom was awakened by a shriek from Rachel. With his conditioning, he was instantly awake and got himself out of his bed quickly, before he had time to feel the pain this caused from his surgery. He was at her bedside. She was sitting up in bed holding her left hand out in front of her as if to ward off an attacker, Wolf and Mason had arrived at her bedside guns drawn at the same time as the Captain. Tom sat down on her bed and leaned into her, being careful not to hurt her. He keened softly, "Rachel…. Rachel, honey, You are alright…..you are having a bad dream….It's Tom, I am right here with you,...Rachel…., come on, baby …it was just a dream…,Rachel, …...I won't let anything happen to you…."

Rachel's eyes started to clear and he could see she was coming around. "Tom ...Oh...Tom, He was here…...He was coming after me, Tom….I couldn't get away…. He was here...Tom…Don't leave me…...Stay with me….Please don't leave me…."

She was still crying and shaking. Tom carefully climbed in bed with Rachel on her left side, so that he was a little behind her, supporting her back and shoulder. She rested her head on his chest. He took her left hand in his and inched his right around her waist so she was partially lying with her hips in his lap. In this way, he was able to cuddle her on her left side in his arms. He angled her body so she was not leaning on his incision. Wolf readjusted her pillows on the right hand side to support her wounded shoulder, now that she was being held in the Captain's arms. He knew that the Captain should not be holding her with his own wound, but he knew there was no way he would tell him that. Wolf said, "Captain, I am leaving the door slightly ajar, so if you need us to adjust the pillows or for any other reason, just call us. I will hear you."

The Captain whispered, "Thank you Wolf, you were a big help just now."

She was still shaking a bit, but he whispered, "Easy Rachel…... I am not going to leave you, honey…...He was not here, Rachel. It was all just a bad dream…. They got him, Rachel…He is never going to come back. Now, listen to me baby….Just try to match your breathing to mine... Feel me breathing?….You can feel me breathing, Rachel.….That's it …That's it,...Now you are doing it…..Feel my heartbeat….relax….baby….that's it, Rachel….It will all be better…just breathe with me…You got it now….baby."

He could feel her breathing slowing to match his own, against the bare skin of his chest. She could smell the clean soap scent of his skin beneath her cheek and she breathed it in, knowing that he really was there and holding her. She was safe and she stopped shaking and knew that this is where she belonged. . She wanted to be well, but she always wanted to know that the only place she truly belonged was in his arms, forever. She finally drifted off to sleep again, while he watched over her, until he also gave himself over to sleep.

xxxxxxx

The next morning, Nurse Parker was the first one to walk into the room and she just stood there with her mouth open.

Both of her patients were in the same bed and the Captain wa shirtless. She was speechless for a moment. It could not be what it looked like. Neither of them was in any condition for any shenanigans. Wolf came up to her and let her know what had happened. They should have called her, but she knew in her heart that the Captain was really the only one who could have calmed Dr. Scott. What everyone was saying was so evident. They were really meant for each other and it was a good thing that Dr. Connors had put them in the same room, though the Captain was not getting his proper rest. She knew he would only think of himself last if at all and she was finding out first hand why his crew was so loyal to him. She also had a soft spot in her heart for this very special man. She could only admire him. She looked at them, not wanting to disturb the sweet picture they made with his dear Rachel resting peacefully in the arms of the man she loved.

She knew they would wake up soon on their own and she did not want to disturb them, though if Wolfe had not told her what had happened, she would have scolded the Captain, when she should have applauded what he had done. Rachel was having the results of shock and trauma and he had done exactly what she needed for support. How could she, as a nurse, fault him for that?

As she watched, she could see Rachel begin to move her head against his chest. Nurse Parker quickly backed out of the room and went to order their breakfast.

Rachel moved her face and cuddled even closer into his chest. She whispered, "Tom, you are really here with me."

She could feel his warm breath on her ear, as he spoke ever so softly, "Indeed, my love, where else would I be?"

"Oh, Tom, You need to get out of my bed and into yours before Nurse Parker comes in and finds us like this," she quipped.

Tom said, "Is that what you want, Rachel?"

"Oh, Tom, Do you even need to ask me that? Of course I don't want you to move, but we can't stay like this. She will be in to get us both up and breakfast will be brought in soon. Get up now. Thanks to you, I slept very well and I am feeling much better."

Tom carefully got out of her bed and helped her get comfortable again with her pillows. She looked up at him standing by her bed in only his sweatpants hung low on his hips. His magnificent abs and muscular chest and arms were something to see. He said, "I will go take a shower and then I will put a T-shirt on and we can have breakfast. As if on cue, Nurse Parker came into the room as their breakfasts arrived. Tom came out of the bathroom, in his sweats with a towel hanging around his neck. "Good Morning, Nurse Parker."

She looked at him with sparkling eyes of humor and quipped, "Top of the Morning to you, Captain. It is good to see you so rested."

He responded in kind, "Feeling great, Nurse Parker. I need to get some more walking in before I walk over to the President's office for our meeting at 1PM.

She said, "Oh Captain, Dr. Rios gave instructions that you be taken to his office in a wheelchair. It is quite a distance away from this wing. She looked at his stubborn look and said, "Now don't you give me any problems, Captain, or Dr. Rios may have to postpone your meeting until you can walk there yourself, in a couple of days. Which will it be, Sir?"

The Captain in full uniform sat down in the wheelchair that Nurse Parker provided for him about 15 minutes before 1 PM. Danny was now on duty and accompanied the Captain to the official office of the POTUS. The Captain stood up and knocked on the door. The President opened the door himself and asked the Captain to come in. He had him sit down at the large conference table and he took a seat across the table. "Tom, it is good to see you looking so well. First of all, as I mentioned before, I completely blame myself for dismissing Dr. Scott's guards. After I pardoned her, I did not see the need for them. It seemed an insult to her. Now, I understand that you had the guard for her to protect her, not just to keep her in place because you did not want her to have free access to the rest of the ship."

The Captain said, "Yes, sir. I wished to discuss that with you. I have always had at least two SEALs' or other Special Forces trained men to be guarding her for obvious reasons. You pardoned her and left her unprotected, without discussing any of it with me. She has been under my protection since the beginning of this mission. I would have expected the courtesy of being informed of your plans to take her out from under my protection."

The president's eyebrow cocked and he looked closely at the frown on the Captain's face. "Tom, I get the idea that there is more to your anger than is on the surface. I thought, from the way you were treating Dr. Scott, after Neils death, that you couldn't stand the sight of Dr. Scott. I thought you would be happy to have the responsibility for her to be taken off your shoulders. I now think I may have completely missed how much you really care about her, Tom. I should have known from the way you danced with her the night of the Inaugural ball. I pardoned her a few minutes later, when I asked you if I could borrow her for a few minutes.

Then all hell broke loose when she was shot. I was briefed on what happened when you found her in the hall and what happened to both of you at the hospital. There are some very romantic stories going on about the two of you, Captain, the heroic saviors of the human race, the Doctor and her Captain. There are probably articles written about you and how you both are the heroes of the people.

Is there any truth to any of those stories , Tom?"

Tom looked down. I just lost my wife to the virus, a little over a month ago, Sir. I loved her very much and there was no way there would have been any physical relationship between Rachel and myself, but we worked very closely for all of those months, through all the dangers, finding a cure for the virus. Because of that, there was a kind of bond that formed between us. It will take some time before I can do anything about my feelings for her, but I want to make sure that you let me know what you will want her to do, because I want to keep her in my life. I want her living close to where my house will be. It will take some time for her to recover and I plan to keep her safe. She is extremely important to me, Sir and if you had not pardoned her, I would have asked you to do so."

Michener said, "I see. I will keep your request in mind, Tom. I presume the good Doctor feels the same about you?"

Tom said, "Yes, Sir, she does. I want to bring my family here so they can get to know her."

Michener continued, "I will get quarters for you as soon as possible. You will have an office here as well. If you want to bring your family here, we can have them stay here with you, until we get the living quarters set up in St. Louis."

Tom said, "Yes sir, I would like to do that as soon as possible. I am told, I will be back to normal, more or less in the next few days."

Later that day, Tom spoke to his father and they agreed to be ready to move in the next week, first to the resort location, then to a house in the village. His father said that Kelly and Ava wanted to come also. Ava and Ashley had become good friends. Tom knew that Kelly did not have anyone else and she and Rachel were friends. She had helped his family. He told his father that he could bring Kelly and Ava as well. Ashley needed to have her friend with her. He wanted to do anything that would help his children adjust to their new circumstances. He hoped that things were beginning to fall into place and that at some time in the near future, there would be some stability to his life and the lives of his family.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Note: Sorry it took so long to update. Life got in the way, but things are better now. Was going to make this chapter much longer, but decided to put the chapter about the family coming to join the Captain, in the next installment. Kelly is coming with them and little does the Captain realize what fireworks are going to start happening with regards to that fact. Kelly has been preparing herself to take the place of his wife and all the care she has given his family, she believes places her in a position to do just that. Tom is in for some conflict and has no idea it is coming. Hang in there. I will get to this sooner than later.

During the 3 weeks, which followed, many changes occurred. As the president had promised, the Secure Residence was made into a real fortress for the president and his special advisors and officers and all needed personnel to man and run this fortress. This included family residences as well as single apartments for all needed personnel and a medical facility, now fully manned. All security and military forces had temporary residences on site. It was a huge facility, as it needed to be, for what it was being used for.

The Captain had recovered from his surgery and was back to work, though he had to work back up to his former strength and was on orders to do it over a number of weeks and not all at once as he was want to do. He always pushed harder than he was allowed to do, so Dr. Rios insisted that Wolf be his personal bodyguard when he was in the gym and Wolf had been given strict instructions of just how much body building the Captain could do a day. The Captain made sure that he learned at least a new move every couple of days, utilizing Wolf's special training capabilities, while he was recovering. He regained his strength very fast this way and was even stronger than he had been before. Dr. Rios was amazed at the difference in the physique of his patient. He had been in great shape before, but now he was looking amazingly strong.

The Captain had arranged for Dr. Scott to have quarters right next to his own family's quarters. The two "apartments", which had originally been luxury suites, when the facility had been used for the very rich, had their own entrances, but also had an adjoining inner door, which could be locked or unlocked to be made into one very large suite of rooms. Rachel's suite had a small kitchen. His had a large kitchen and dining room, designed for a large group of people who would want to have their own quarters but have access to the large kitchen with a bar, dining room and an open concept lounge area with a large meeting table. He also used this large room for meetings with his officers. It had televisions, meeting tables and sitting areas.

The Captain's quarters had enough combined bedrooms, each with their own full bathrooms and sitting areas, all which could be opening into the large shared area. Each of his children would have their own rooms, as did his dad. He had made sure Rachel could utilize his living quarter's large kitchen and meeting area, but to still have her own private living area as well.

Her own suite had two bedrooms and two baths. All the rooms had their own desks, computers and lounge areas as well. Nurse Parker took one of the two bedrooms, initially, in order to assist with her care. Later, Nurse Parker was moved to her own quarters and Bertrice was brought to the facility to live with Rachel. Rachel was very close to Bertice and she could help Rachel with the medical work that she was allowed to do doing during her own recovery.

At this point, Bertrice was helping more with Rachel's physical recovery, though she was also a big help with the little work Rachel was able to manage. Next week, Rachel would begin physical therapy, which she would be doing that for a number of months, until she was able to have complete range of motion again. As she was recovering, she would be allowed more and more freedom to do more of her work. Hopefully, then they would have secured the area in St. Louis and all could be moved to regular housing and a more workable situation than the present accommodations.

The Captain had also made sure that Kelly would have her own suite with two bedrooms for herself and Ava. These were on the same floor, but not right next to his quarters and did not open into his suite.

The Captain was reassured that the security of "The Fortress", which was the new official name for this very official place, was indeed safe. His family was due to arrive shortly, but he had two more days with Rachel before they did. He wanted to make the most of it.

Nurse Parker, when Rachel had been allowed to be moved from the hospital wing of The Fortress, to these suites, had insisted on checking the Captain's wounds as well as Rachel's. The Captain, however, did not put up with that for long, insisting that he was fully recovered and already into physical therapy and there was no more need for her to be concerned with him. Nurse Parker, however, watched over him like a mother hen, from a distance and reported to Dr. Rios if he was overdoing. Dr. Rios would laugh when he would get her reports on his Captain. Nurse Parker, of course, had no way of knowing that Captain Chandler was always overdoing what he should be doing and unless it was a matter of his life being in danger, he would not be held back by anything the doctor would caution him on. Even Rachel had trouble holding him back when he had made up his mind to get something done.

The Captain thought of Nurse Parker as a dear lady and he was so beholden to her for her care of Rachel when he could not be there to help her, which was most of the time, now. Michener kept him very busy with planning and with trips back and forth to St. Louis. He had to keep close contact with the crew of the Nathan James, still located in the large Hotel, which had served them initially and was not part of the very large base of operations they were building in an area, which would eventually be as secure, as Norfolk, only more so. This was to be the new Governmental Capital of the United States. They, not only had to secure the base with military and family living quarters there, but the medical facilities, the labs for making the cure and also they had to rebuild the city itself and the infrastructure of the city. Schools and training facilities had to be set up. Food and supply chains were needed. They had to figure a way to clear all of the abandoned cars and figure what could be utilized from the steel they had. They had to make sure electricity was available for at least part of the day. It was a new world and the problems were huge. They had to find the mind power of whoever was left alive and who would know how to do metal work, sort clothing and get them to the people who had the winter to face. Now the dilemma was how to keep the people warm and fed and healthy. He was advising about Naval Operations, but he knew he too was in charge of large numbers of people and their families and so he wore many hats and had to think through many more problems and solutions, completely outside the box, on practically every single need in life now. Sometimes he just wanted to jump off the planet and out of his position of the go to person for Michener, who had even more to deal with than he did. He realized, however, that there was nowhere else to jump to get away and he was stuck.

He had one thing that saved him and that was Rachel. He always came back to her at the end of the day. He knew she was there in a safe place. Just to know that, let him breathe a sigh of relief, as he knew he would see her beautiful face when he arrived back at the suites. Each night, they would have dinner together and they both looked forward to this. He still planned to have her eat dinner with his family, after they arrived, but he did not know about how that would work out since they did not yet know her, except by reputation and having seen her from a distance. She had felt so guilty because she had not made the cure soon enough to save their mother, that she had been unable to face them back then.

Rachel was much stronger than she had been. Her color was better and her wounds had healed, but the damage done to her shoulder tendons and muscles would take longer. She was going to get stronger gradually, but she could not wait. At this point she was still unable to lift her arm above her head to wash her hair or reach for a something on an upper shelf. It was painful to dress and she could not reach behind herself to button anything. She needed a lot of help getting in and out of the tub and she had that help, but she felt so helpless and feeble from her standpoint. She was assured that she would make a complete recovery, but it would take probably 4-6 months before her full range of motion could be restored and only with the help of physical therapy 3 times a week plus doing exercises daily at home. Tom understood all of this and was always there at night to help her and give her encouragement. Nurse Parker had been invaluable in showing Rachel how to do things for herself until she would be turned over to the physical therapist that would be in charge of her next phase of recovery.

She still had nightmares and Tom seemed to be the only one who could calm her when she did. Even Nurse Parker would call to him come to Rachel's room when she had one of her nightmares. She got used to seeing him climb onto the bed with Rachel and he would hold her until she fell back to sleep. Sometimes he did not leave her and they both slept the rest of the night together. She had never felt right about this, but she knew it was helping Rachel and judging from his reaction, she knew he was better off with her than without her. They seemed to calm each other, though she knew her patient was not in danger of being ravished by the Captain, who treated her as if she was made of fine china, he was so careful when he touched her, not to hurt her in any way. She would leave them and go back to her own room.

After she left and Bertrice came to stay in the extra bedroom, Nurse Parker told Bertrice if Rachel had one of her terror nightmares, she was to run to the Captain's room and call to him. He would come and take care of Rachel and she was not to worry when he got in bed with her. It seemed to be the only way they could calm her at this point. Eventually, she would have to have some sessions with a doctor, but not yet. It was still too soon. Bertrice knew the relationship that Rachel had with the Captain was close, but she had never known that they had become this close. She hoped it would work out that they would eventually be able to be together long term. She knew that the Captain's children would be coming to this location soon, along with his father and she was not sure how they would handle this kind of thing when the children would be here.

She asked the Captain about what she should do when the children were living in his suite with him. He said that if Rachel needed him, Bertrice should come into his room and call to him softly, from the end of his bed and he would wake up. This way she would probably not awaken the children or his father. The Captain would come with her and then, after Rachel was asleep, he would return to his room before morning. His bedroom was the closest to Rachel's room and the children would not awaken, in all probability. The Captain always wore his T-shirt and sweatpants to bed, so he was never in his underwear, should Bertrice be in need of his help, during the night. Bertice knew there would be nothing going on, because of Rachel's condition and his careful attention not to hurt her in any way. Even so, she wondered how he could sleep with her so easily. It just seemed so natural to him. Like Nurse Parker, she would go back to her own room and in the morning, she would find him in the kitchen cooking breakfast for the 3 of them or he would order it in from the staff area and she could smell the coffee and eggs and bacon or pancakes or whatever he had ordered up for them.

It was two days before the children would arrive and Tom was so excited to see his family, but he was a little nervous about what the children would think about Rachel and if she would like them. It had still not been very long since their mother had passed and that had been a terrible experience for them, one he had not had a chance to discuss with either of his children. There was still so much he needed to help them with, as their father. At least his father had been with them and Kelly. They had not been completely alone. From what his father had told him, Kelly had been helping to teach the children at the school in Norfolk and he knew she would be able to do the same here, though she might have to do it for just the children of the officers her at The Fortress. When they got relocated to the base, she would have many more students and she would be an asset there. He hadn't thought much about her other than those thoughts. He had been totally preoccupied with his tasks in the government and with Rachel's recovery as well as getting himself back in shape.

That night at dinner, they talked of what he was involved in with Michener and their progress. Rachel loved to hear about what was going on and about what was happening at the lab and their progress with the making of the cure. She was chomping at the bit to get back into her work. He brought her work from the labs, but it was mainly notes on what was going on and questions she might be able to answer and any suggestions she might make to change the procedures. She worked on these at her computer during the day and she had phone contact with the doctors at the lab. This gave her purpose so she did not feel completely useless.

They also spoke of his children and he would tell her stories about what they did as younger children and it was as if she began to know them a little. She was very nervous about meeting them and with his father, but she hoped they would like her. If they were his children, she felt she could not help but like them.

Later, after they had each said goodnight and Rachel lay in her bed, her light out, she could not sleep, she knew there may never be another time that she could have Tom in her bed and even when he did come to her, it was only when she was so terrified, she cuddled into his arms for protection and to calm her shaking body. This did not happen often and now she so wanted to lie in his arms, without the terror. She wanted to feel his touch. She wanted to touch him. Would it be too soon for him to accept that she wanted him like that? Would he want her? Did he only want to help her deal with the terror or could he possibly have feelings for her the way she did for him?

She finally thought that she would risk everything and go to his room. She could not believe she was walking from her darkened suite through the door, which she closed softly behind her. There was a soft night light in the hallway that Tom always left on so Bertrice or before her, Nurse Parker, could find their way to his bedroom easily, if Rachel needed him during the night. His bedroom door was open, but it was dark inside. She stood at his door, bathed in the soft light behind her, silhouetted against the golden glow, not realizing that the light shined through her filmy nightgown showing her long hair and every delectable curve of her exquisite body. He did not know what had awakened him, but he lay transfixed at the sight of her. She heard his sharp intake of breath as he stared at her delicate figure and the slender shape of her parted legs which were outlined through her sheer nightgown, as she stood there in the hallway, one arm outstretched touching one side of his doorway. God she was so beautiful, he thought. He spoke softly so as not to startle her. "Rachel, are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?"

She answered him, her voice shaking a bit, out of a fear he might reject her. "Tom, I did not have a bad dream, but I could not sleep. I….I...want to be with you, Tom, in your bed….Is it alright? "

She could now see him dimly. He was sitting up in bed and had turned back the cover and the top sheet, welcoming her as he said, "Rachel, l will never turn you away from my bed, not now or ever. I want to be with you also, but I don't want to hurt you. We can't…"

She said, "I know, Tom, but just to be with you would be enough. I just want to feel you near me. I know you are not ready yet, but with your children coming, we may not have another chance for a long time."

His answer was to pull her gently into his arms, careful not to disturb her shoulder injury. She molded herself into the warmth of his chest. He held her close and her head rested under his chin. He bent and kissed the top of her head. She moved her hands gently across his abdomen and she found the bottom of his T-shirt and reached beneath it and ran her hand up his naked abdomen and up his chest, She stroked his bare skin and it took his breath away, She pushed his shirt up to above his breasts and he reached up and removed it over his head. She placed her head against his naked chest and felt the smooth ripple of his toned muscles under her cheek. She strokes his bare skin lightly running her nails over his stomach in a circular motion. She found his scar, still healing and lightly brushed over it with loving care. He could not help himself as he lightly ran his fingers over her stomach through her shear gown and over her rounded breasts. He rubbed his thumbs back and forth over her nipples until he felt them become hard, He reached inside of her gown and felt the soft velvety skin of her breasts. He cupped each perfect mound and he pulled the straps of the gown down so that she was naked from the waist up. He buried his head in her chest and he suckled each breast gently and ran his tongue back and forth over her nipples, flicking each to get the response he wanted. He then raised his lips to hers, driving her crazy wanting him to kiss her deeply, but he wanted to take his time. He moved his open lips, sensuously, gently, ever so slowly, barely brushing them over hers, exploring every inch of them. She moved her open lips against his, matching his feather light approach. They took their time as they gradually reached the point where he gently parted her lips with his tongue, tasting the liquid nectar as he began to kiss her deeply, now exploring the depths of that kiss. On some level he had dreamed of kissing her like this since he had first experienced her kiss on the Vyerni. He had tried to dismiss the dreams, but sometimes he could not help himself. Now, he was actually kissing her and she was kissing him with an equal passion, which only hinted at the true fire within her small frame. She was beyond belief and he could not get enough of her. He was surrounded by her sweet vanilla scent and he relished the feel her silky hair and the smooth softness of her skin beneath his fingertips as he ran them ever so lightly over her abdomen and up her ribcage to the delicate exquisite mounds of her breasts.

Her heart went out to this stubborn rock hard warrior of a Captain, who could touch her lips with his, in that gentle feather light exploration which took such exquisite control on his part and simply took her breath away, even as she managed to match her own exploration to his. How she loved being surrounded by his clean masculine scent and she wanted so much to be part of him, to belong to him. She knew it was too soon, but she had to admit she had been in love with him for a very long time. Even though she knew at that earlier time, there was no future for her in giving in to it. Now, she could allow her heart to open to him. Could he really open his heart to her? Would he let himself? Was it too soon? How far would he go tonight?

She slid her hand down his chest, down his abdomen and underneath the loose waistband of his sweatpants. She could feel the intake of his breath as she was so close to touching his manhood, which was already reacting to her close proximity. He reached down, his hand closing over hers, stopping her from further exploration in that direction. He rasped, "Rachel, we won't go there now….not yet. We can't complete it. You are not strong enough yet and I don't want to hurt you. We will have time for all of that when the time is right. It won't be so long."

Rachel laid her head on his chest and quipped "And I was just getting started. You are just not ready yet, are you Tom? I would be alright. I want you, now, Tom. I can stand a little pain to be with you."

She started to try to seduce him again, but he held her still. He kissed her lips and said laughingly, "Oh you really are a little Tiger aren't you, Rachel, more like a baby tiger right now, one who is ready to conquer the world, no matter what kind of trouble you might get yourself into in your exploration. Yes, "Baby Tiger", I am making the decision on this because you are not thinking clearly about what is good for you right now and if I let you continue with what you were doing to me, I would not be thinking clearly either. Neither of us is prepared for this right now and if we do not want to end up like Kara and Danny, we had better slow down a bit, don't you think,? I don't even have a condom in the apartment."

Her heart melted when he called her "Baby Tiger" and she felt very sexy as he talked about what would have happened to his resolve, if she had continued her exploration. "Well, Tom, I would suggest you find some condoms sooner rather than later, because your "Baby Tiger" is not going to be put off for much longer."

He laughed and just as he was ready to move down her body so that he could pleasure her, he heard a noise at his bedroom door. They both saw a form silhouetted against the night light from the hall. Suddenly out of the darkness, they both heard, "Captain…..Captain… are you awake? I can't find Rachel….She is not in her room."

It was Bertrice. He had told her to come to his room and wake him up, if Rachel ever needed him or if she had a nightmare. He answered. "It is alright, Bertrice. Rachel is here with me. You can go back to bed. She will sleep here, tonight. She will be fine. We will see you in the morning."

They both heard the intake of breath from Bertrice as she realized her mistake. "Oh, Captain, I am so sorry, I just thought …..I just was afraid she had left the apartment…..I just…."

The Captain said, "It is alright Bertrice. No harm done. Now get some sleep, yourself."

They both held their breath, until they heard Bertrice leave the suite and close the door which joined the two suites, behind her. Then they burst out laughing. It had broken the mood they had been in and Tom realized how late it was and that there would be very little sleep for either of them as it was and he had early meetings with Michener the next day and he had been told that Rachel needed plenty of rest. He said, "Okay, Baby Tiger, I think that was your guardian angel telling us both that we need to slow this down a bit and you need to get some sleep, tonight. It is enough that we are together and I can hold you in my arms all night.'

He pulled the sheets and blanket up and they cuddled together. He made sure she had pillows supporting her wounded shoulder. He lay down next to her, as she curved her body into his as close as she could comfortably do. He whispered, "Good night, "Baby Tiger".

He placed an arm around her waist. She felt really safe for the first time since the shooting. She sighed, "Good night, my love."

He looked down at this beautiful woman lying in his arms and he felt a kind of peace roll over his entire body. It was as though, at last, he was complete. She belonged in his arms, but suddenly a shadow passed over his eyes and fear ran down his spine. "Was she still in danger? Oh, my God, please let nothing more happen to her."

The thought of being without her was more than he could bear. He calmed himself, forcing himself to think about how he would introduce her to his children and his father. Then he closed his eyes, even as he kissed the top of her head, as he treasured the feel of his baby tiger in his arms, as he drifted off to sleep himself, knowing that he never again wanted to let her go.


	11. Chapter 11 Stand Fast

Note: I am truly sorry you all had to wait such a long time for an update. I had an accident and it has taken a few months to recover. I will follow this chapter with another rather quickly, I think. Thank you all for being such loyal fans. Please leave me some reviews to let me know what you think. Love you all.

Stand Fast Chapter 11

The Captain had been given notice that his children and his father were on board one of the large transport helicopters, in route to the Fortress. Kelly and Ava were with them along with the clothing and personal items they had brought from home in Norfolk. He stood there, along with Burk and Wolf awaiting their arrival at the Heliport, inside the Fortress. He felt his stomach flutter with the anticipation of seeing them again and realizing that they were really here and that they would be a family again. It was something he had longed for and now it was here at last. It had been so much harder to leave them this time, after all that had happened. Now, they needed this family time together, to rebuild the bonds between them.

He saw Ashley and Sammy emerge from the transport with the help of its crew, along with his father, Kelly and Ava. His two children launched themselves into his waiting arms, hugging him with cries of joy, as he felt his own eyes fill with unshed tears. His heart was full of wonder at how they had changed, even in the few short months of their separation. He held them close and they both were crying in happiness to actually be here and know that they were to be together again.

His eyes met his dad's and an unspoken understanding passed between them, the son thanking the father for watching over his children and his father's pride in all that his son was doing for their country was evident in his manner. Tom let go of the children for a moment and embraced his father. He was so grateful that he was there for all of them. As soon as his father had stepped back, Kelly stepped up throwing her arms around Tom's neck and saying how good it was to see him again. He was very surprised, but thought it was a friendly hug which he returned, thanking her for watching out for his children. He had given her a quick hug and let her go when Ava ran up to him as well. He gave her a fatherly hug as well, welcoming them to their new temporary home here at the Fortress. His children were all talking at once. Tom had some of the men on duty, stack the luggage and boxes and had Wolf let them know where they were to be delivered. He then led the way to their new quarters. Wolf took Kelly and Ava to their suite down the hall from the Captain's quarters. They were instructed that someone would come and collect them so that they could come back to his quarters for breakfast after everyone was settled in.

The children were all so excited when he opened the door to their own suite. Sammy ran into the main room and his mouth flew open. "Wow, dad, this is awesome. This is all for us? We could almost play football in here."

Ashley said, "Don't be silly, Sammy. Dad probably has his meetings in here, but it certainly is plenty of room for just about anything we might want to do. We certainly won't be tripping over each other."

She could already see herself curled up with a book in one of the beautiful plush easy chairs in front of one of the three gas fireplaces which were placed in cozy alcoves in the massive suite.

Sammy was already down the hall exploring his bedroom. "Come and look at this Ash. We each have our own bathroom and our own study desk and a TV for watching movies and look at the size of the beds."

Ashley made herself at home in her new room, which had its own little sitting area and a desk, not to mention a lovely sunken marble bath with spa features. She was so excited to try it out. She could not believe the opulence of the marble floors and the plush rugs and beautiful drapes and bedding on the 4 poster beds. She felt like a princess. This place was almost like a castle. The huge king size beds were massive.

Jed said, "Tom, you never told us we would be living in a castle. This is a little much after my cabin in the mountains."

Tom said, "I know it is a bit over the top, from what we are accustomed to, dad, but we need the security that the Fortress is designed to provide. It was originally a retreat for the very wealthy who needed the highest security and that security is what we need, until a safe place can be built on the base in St. Louis. The views here are spectacular whenever I get a chance to look at them, which unfortunately is not often."

After everyone had settled in a bit, Tom called them all into the main room and they sat together in one of the cozy alcoves with the fire going in the fireplace. The children were drinking hot cocoa and Tom and his father had Coffee. The staff had provided them with small pastries that Sam and Ashley were both gobbling down. Tom said. "Take it easy on the pastries; I have breakfast coming very soon for everyone. Tonight we are also having a bit of a get together to welcome you with just a few friends and some of the officers you know already, along with Dr. Scott, who has been so important to our mission and who is the one who saved all of you with her discovery of the cure. Would you like to meet her?"

Ashley looked up, "Gosh dad, I always wanted a chance to thank her. Without her cure, we would not have lived. Gramps said that some of the enemy tried to kill her and she had been shot. Oh dad, is she alright, now? I was so upset when I heard because I thought I might never have a chance to thank her. If you had not been with her dad, you and your crew may also have died."

He answered, "Her protection and the protection of the cure was our mission, my mission. That is why she is living right next door to us, guys. When she was shot, it was because we had let down our guard and I do not ever want to let that happen again. Her safety and yours are still my most personal responsibility, so you will see a lot of her. She is still recovering from being shot, but she is much better and is very anxious to meet all of you. I have invited her to breakfast with us. Her suite is right next to ours and she and her roommate often have breakfast here, since I keep her close under the protection of my own guards.

Tom quickly explained that Rachel's suite was an adjoining suite to their own because her work and his required so many joint meetings with the rest of the personnel who used his quarters as meeting areas. In addition, he wanted to make sure he was close by after what had happened when she was shot, so that she would not have to walk far to attend meetings. Also many of their meals were in the large kitchen he had here, where her kitchen was much smaller, as were the work areas.

Ashley said, "Oh dad, we would love to meet her, wouldn't we Sammy?"

Sammy looked up at his dad with enthusiasm, "Yes dad, I would like to ask her about how she got shot. That would be really cool."

His father shook his head, "No, buddy, I don't want you to ask her about that. It was very traumatic for her and she is not ready to talk about it. She is quite brave however and maybe, when you get a chance to speak with Uncle Mike, tonight, he will tell you how brave she was when she helped rescue me and Tex, from the Russians. I would not be here if she had not come herself to the Russian ship when we were captured. She had a part in rescuing Kelly and Ava as well. She is quite the hero."

The children were intrigued with the possibility of hearing how Dr. Scott had rescued their dad Tex, Kelly and Ava from the Russians. Ashley said, "I like her already."

Ashley put her cocoa down and went to her father and melted into his arms, her head buried into his chest as his hand gently caressed her back and he bent to plant a kiss on the top of her head. Sammy walked up to them both and leaned into the embrace and his father adjusted to encompass his son as well, ruffling his Sammy's hair with his hand, as he held them close to his chest. Jed looked on in approval at the obvious closeness his son had with his children.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door and the staff from the kitchens of the Fortress came in with their breakfast. They quickly set up the table with a variety of breakfast items and the delicious aroma of smoked bacon, ham, turkey sausage and eggs wafted through the room and delighted their senses. There were also light golden pancakes, Belgian waffles with melted butter, assorted syrups and delectable pastries and fruits. It was an absolutely mouthwatering display.

The Captain walked over to the end of the room to knock at the door of Rachel's adjoining suite. Bertrise opened the door and after a couple of minutes, she and Rachel stepped into the Captain's suite.

Ashley blinked as she saw Rachel and Bertrice walk out of seemingly another room of their own family suite. Tom took Rachel's left hand in his and walked with her and Bertrise, "I want you all to greet Dr. Rachel Scott and this is Bertrise, who is living with her during her recovery. Dr. Scott and Bertrise, I would like you both to meet my son, Sammy, my beautiful daughter, Ashley and this is my dad, Jed."

Rachel and Bertrise stepped forward to greet each of Tom's family. Rachel was very nervous about meeting the Captain's children, officially, for the first time. The guilt she felt for the loss of their mother was so much at the forefront of her mind.

Rachel was surprised, therefore, to see Tom's lovely daughter Ashley, with her stunning blue eyes and dark hair step forward to greet her hero. Ashley, as young as she was, had her father's quick ability to assess any situation. She had immediately realized that Dr. Scott was somewhat favoring her right arm with her left and that her father was being very gentle as he carefully walked with her. Ashley therefore, adjusted her enthusiasm so that she only lightly lay her hand on Rachel's left forearm and touched her cheek to Rachel's cheek, as she said "Oh Dr. Scott, I have wanted to thank you for such a long time, for all you have done. It is because of you that my father was brought back to us and that our lives were saved. There are no words to tell you how grateful we are, for all you have done."

Rachel noted the tears in Ashley's beautifully expressive eyes as responded softly. "Ashley, that is very kind of you to say, but to be honest, I have been a bit afraid to face you, because we arrived too late to save your mother. I know what a loss she was for all of you."

Rachel hugged Ashley to her breast, closing her eyes, stinging with tears, against the pain she knew first hand Ashley and her brother must have faced being there when their mother died.

Ashley pulled back and looking into Dr. Scott's eyes, said. "Dr. Scott, please do not ever think that we hold our mother's loss against you or daddy. You both have worked so hard to find the cure and to bring it back to all of us, to save so many lives. I am so glad you will be here with us, so close to us. It is almost like you are living in our home, you are so close."

Next, Sammy stepped up to her and looking her right in the eyes, as he said, in his most well schooled manner. "It is very nice to meet you, Dr. Scott. Daddy says that you will be living right here with us and that he is going to guard you and take care of you, because he was not careful before and he let you get shot. He said it is his personal mission now to guard and protect you and to make sure you never get shot again. He gave her a quick hug and then said in a voice that reminded her of his father, when he was laying things on the line. "Dr. Scott, don't worry. When my father cannot be with you, I will be here and I will take care of you and make sure nobody shoots you. You can be sure of that. I took care of Ashley when dad was at sea. "

Rachel looked up at Tom, with laughter in her eyes. He was standing there with one hand over the lower part of his face, doing his familiar scrubbing motion over his lower jaw line. She stepped back and looking straight into Sammy's very serious face and concerned eyes, she said. "Sam, it is so nice to meet such a fine young gentleman. I am sure I will be safe with you and your father here to protect me."

Sammy's chest puffed out as he almost stood at attention. Tom did not have the heart to call him to task for doing exactly what he had asked him not to do, talk about Rachel being shot.

Jed stepped in at this point, taking Rachel's left hand is both of his hands and said, "Dr. Scott, I can only thank you for what you have done for us and our family, not to mention the millions of other families you have saved. I am so grateful that you are still with us and can still be around to enjoy the cure that you created. I am so sorry that I only saw you in passing when we were on the ship. I would have thanked you back then, but we hardly had a chance to speak with each other and with all of the death and destruction and with all that was going on, there was hardly time. I hope we can have a chance to speak with each other at length, since you will be living in such close proximity to us."

Tom interrupted at this point and barked, "Alright, everyone, I think this is a good time to move to the table for breakfast, before everything gets cold. Let me have one of my guards collect Kelly and Ava so they can join us for breakfast. I almost forgot. They must also be famished."

It was only a few minutes before Kelly and Ava joined them for breakfast.

Kelly and Rachel embraced, though Kelly seemed surprised to see Rachel and Bertrice already here in the Captain's suite.

Before they all sat down, Tom asked Rachel if she had her report on the spread of the virus that the POTUS wanted in his briefing meeting that morning later. Rachel asked Bertrise to get it.

Kelly was shocked when she saw Bertrise duck into a doorway at the end of the room, so she immediately knew that Rachel had what looked like one of the rooms in Tom's suite. Her heart dropped to the floor. Did this mean that Rachel and Tom were staying in the same suite?

A little later, Sam asked his dad, "Do we have any more milk, dad?"

Tom said, "I will check, Sammy. If not, I can call down for more."

He got up and headed for the kitchen. Kelly got up and followed, saying she would check for more butter.

Tom realized that there was no more milk and was ready to put a call into the kitchen staff. Kelly looked in the refrigerator and told him to hold on for a moment. Not finding more butter, she told him to add that to what they would be bringing up. He finished the order and hung up the phone. Kelly was standing there looking at him as if she expected him to say something.

He said, "Kelly, I want you to know how much it meant to me to have you checking in on my family while I was gone. I notice that you were with them almost every time I called home. You certainly gave them a lot of your time and I just wanted you to know that it was appreciated. My father says that you have been teaching school as well. I am also grateful for that. We certainly need good teachers and will most definetley need one here. I have no doubt you'll be one of our our best assets. I hope you will happy to do the same thing here. I did not actually ask you if you wanted to come here, but I felt a little responsible for you and Ava, after you have cared so much for my family, in my absence."

She moved in a little closer to him. "Well Tom, I know how much Ava and Sammy missed having you there and during that time, they had no mother or father at home, I thought they might like to have someone fixing meals and getting them off to school and all. I also needed to feel needed. I don't know if you know this Tom, but I love your children as my own. Ava thinks of Ashley as a sister. I was just hoping that you and I could…"

She paused not sure if she should continue to ask him what she really wanted to know. "Perhaps, it is not my place to ask you, but I didn't know what to think when I saw that Dr. Scott was sharing your suite. Does that mean you two are a couple?"

Tom was taken aback to say the least. "Where did you get that idea? She has her own suite next door. It just has an adjoining door to this suite and another door into the hall. We do a lot of meetings together as well as with many others who join us in my suite which is used for a meeting area. Her injury makes it much easier on her to be in close proximity to my quarters here."

Just then, there was a knock on the outer door. Tom hurried to answer it, glad to escape Kelly and break the chain of her thought process and the questions that she posed.

After taking the milk and butter, he headed back to the dining area, with Kelly right on his heels. They both sat down and Tom avoided any eye contact with her, though she was constantly looking at him.

Tom was sitting directly across from Rachel and she noticed the stiffness in his manner as he returned from the kitchen followed by Kelly, who seemed to be unable to keep her eyes off of him.

Ashley, who was sitting next to Rachel, said under her breath, "Oh no, why can't she just leave good enough alone. She just had to follow him into the kitchen. God, I just wish she would stop trying to take the place of my mother. I hate this!"

Rachel looked at Ashley and tears were running down her face. Ashley got up, placing her napkin on the table and excused herself, running out of the room. Her father looked up frowning, "What is the matter with Ashley?"

He started to get up to follow her. Kelly also started to get up. Rachel said firmly, "No! It was something I said to her. I will speak with her!"

She gave Tom a look which would brook no argument. He sat back down. Kelly had started to get up anyway to follow Rachel, but Tom said in his most commanding voice, "No Kelly, Rachel will handle it!"

Rachel knocked on the door to Ashley's room. She said, "It is Dr. Scott, Ashley, may I come in?"

Ashley said "Yes, you can come in."

Rachel let herself into the room and walked to the bed upon which Ashley lay on her stomach hugging one of her pillows and sobbing... Rachel placed her hand on Ashley's back and tried to sooth her. "Ashley, darling, what is it. Do you want to tell me about it, sweetheart?"

Ashley said. "He still loves my mother, I know he does. He doesn't want Kelly. She could never take the place of my mother in his eyes. I saw him cry when he found out she was dead. I was there. Why can't she just leave him alone? Sammy and I don't want her, either."

Rachel said, "Darling, are you talking about Kelly? You think she is trying to take the place of your mother? I am sure she doesn't want to do that."

Ashley said, "Yes, she does. She wants my father. She is always trying to do things to show him that she can be just like my mother. She cooked for us, mended our clothing, gave us birthday parties, made cakes and pies and cookies, but she could never take the place of my mother. She found out the time he usually calls us and she always managed to be there in our house, in the background so he would have to say something to her. Even Ava noticed. She still misses her own dad. She loves my dad, because he rescued them and he helped her dad as well, but she thinks her mother should not be going after my dad like she is. I don't want her for a mother. I don't see happiness in my father's eyes when he looks at her. Why did he bring her here with us?"

Rachel said, "He brought her here because he felt responsible for her and Ava and because she had helped him keep an eye on the two of you and your grandfather. Ava's father was my very close friend and fellow scientist. He gave his life to save the cure. Your father felt a responsibility to make sure Kelly and Ava were safe and taken care of by the Navy. He owes her a debt of gratitude. Don't worry darling that did not include that he felt he had to marry her."

Ashley said, "I am just afraid she would drive him to it. He is such a stickler for doing what he thinks is the right thing. What if he can't stand it anymore and he just marries her?"

Rachel said, "Ashley, give your father credit for having some sense. He is not going to just up and marry another woman who has been taking care of you. He knows no one can take the place of your mother and no one should even try. Now, calm down, sweetheart. Go put some cold water on your eyes and then let's go back out to the table. Your father wants you to be part of this first breakfast with his family back together."

She looked at Rachel and said, "Thanks Dr. Scott."

Rachel said, "Ashley, I want you to call me Rachel, Ok?"

Ashley said, "Alright, Rachel. I am sorry. I should know my father would not fall for Kelly. It was just a nightmare to think about. I almost feel I need to protect him from her."

Rachel laughed at that and it was funny, because she felt the same way. About war, he was brilliant, but she could bet he didn't have a clue about what to do about Kelly. One thing was abundantly clear to her however, these children were not ready for him to choose a new partner or girlfriend. That meant that she would have to cool off her desire for him and he would have to do the same. It was too soon for them. She knew someone was going to have to have a talk with Kelly. Should it be her or Tom? She knew the answer to that one.

…...

After breakfast was cleared, Tom told his children to clean up so they could be taken on a tour of the Fortress. Kelly and Ava were also invited. The children asked if he would be with them. He said he would join them for the last half of the tour, but there were some things that he and Dr. Scott had to discuss before his meeting with the POTUS.

He had a couple of the men from his security detail take them on the first part of the tour. He motioned Rachel into his personal office area. They were alone in the suite. He took her into his arms and just held her there for a moment. He said, "Rachel, what happened between you and Ashley? Is everything alright?"

She took a deep breath as she looked into his troubled eyes. "Tom, I absolutely adore your family. They are all just beyond words. I already love them all."

He smiled and gave her a gentle hug, "Then why was Ashley crying? Is there a problem?"

Rachel gave a sad sigh and let out her breath. "We do have a problem that does affect our relationship."

Tom frowned, "Oh no, Rachel, does Ashley not like you? Did she say anything that hurt you? Did what Sammy said upset you?"

Rachel said," Oh no, Tom. I love the children and they seem to like me alright. The problem is Kelly and Ashley's reaction to her becoming her new mother."

Tom stood there dumbfounded. "What…..? Their new mother…. What on Earth are you talking about? Kelly is not going to become their new mother. There is no way in Hell that is going to happen. How can you even think of such a thing?"

Rachel said, "It is your daughter who thinks you might fall for Kelly, because she has been taking over the responsibilities of what a mother would normally do for them. She said that she does not want Kelly to be her new mother and she still thinks you love her mother and she doesn't want you bothered by Kelly, but she feels you might be so upset by Darien's death that you will just marry Kelly just to get her to stop going after you."

Tom looked exasperated. "Rachel, you cannot believe I would do such a thing?"

Rachel said. "Tom, it is not about Kelly that I am worried. It is what Ashley she said about not wanting a new mother, her not thinking you are ready for a new woman. It is too soon for the children and she is probably right, that it is too soon for you. You are just affected by the fact that I was shot and you feel responsible. Even Sammy picked up on that. Tom, don't you see? I have been pushing you too hard myself. I care about you more that I can even admit to myself, but you knew that it was too soon the night I was shot, when you did not invite me in. I have to admit it, Tom and that would have been wrong and you knew that. Even though you care for me, even if you love me, it is too soon to act on it. The children are not ready. That is not to say they will not be at a later time, but not yet, Tom. My wound will take the time it takes and our relationship can grow gradually as the children get to know me. We will just have to take it a bit slower. Don't you see?"

He took her in his arms and he kissed her slow and deep. She let go of her inhibitions and let herself fall into that kiss with all the love and passion she had within her. "Rachel, I almost lost you, because I did not invite you in that night, I might never have been able to kiss you or tell you how much I love you."

He continued, "When I was in the operating room, dying, myself, that night, remember, Darien would not let me die. She told me it was not my time. She told me that you were the one she wanted to raise her children and that you would love them as if they were your own. She told me that you would love me and that I would love you. She knew that the love she and I had for each other and the love of her children would never be lost or need to be replaced. It will always be there. She said that you, Rachel, have your own love to give them and to give me and the love we all give back to you will belong to you, as the love we all gave to her, will belong to her for all eternity. One love does not replace another. One person does not replace another. There is enough love in each of us for all of it and more. She told me that, herself so that I would not have guilt about her. I have never forgotten it, Rachel."

Rachel said, "Thank you, Tom, for reminding me what Darien said to you. One day you must be sure and let the children know what their mother felt about our relationship. It will help them, when the time is right. For now, however, we have to remember that the love we have for each other will not be less if we give the children a chance to catch up with theirs. They have not had me around them. Let them become accustomed to what I can give them. Let them discover for themselves that just because they learn to love me and that you love me, does not lessen their love or your love for their mother. Let us love them enough to give them that time with us. I do not want to force our relationship on them. I think we will know when the time is right, don't you?"

Tom said, "God, who made you so wise, Rachel? I can wait as long as I know we love each other. That will not change. It will only grow stronger. We will have to do something about Kelly. I am sure we will be able to handle that between us. I can't blame Kelly. She needs someone to love her and Ava. I have always felt responsible for them, but not to the extent of marrying her myself."

Rachel huffed, "Kelly has always been a friend of mine, so perhaps I can speak with her. It has to be soon. I don't want Ashley troubled by thinking she will be her new mother. I can speak with her this afternoon, after the tour and things have settled down a bit. She asked me to come to her suite so we could have some girl talk.

Tom looked thoughtful." Good idea, Rachel. See what you can do. I don't want Ashley worried.

Now, I better get down and help them finish out the tour.

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That afternoon, Rachel went over to Kelly's suite. She took a deep breath and exhaled before knocking. Kelly opened the door and held it while Rachel entered. Kelly did not look happy. She seemed very troubled. Rachel was also very apprehensive about broaching the subject she had to discuss.

Kelly began the discussion after inviting Rachel to sit on the couch in the sitting area. Kelly had made tea and they both sat sipping it. Finally Kelly looked at Rachel closely. "Rachel, we have been friends for a very long time, as long as you have known Quincy, even before I married him. I have to admit something to you that I have never told you before. For a while, before we were married, I was very jealous of you. I thought that because you were working with him and you being so beautiful, that he might have a thing for you. He tried to assure me that he was in love with me, not you."

Rachel started to say something, but Kelly held up her hand. "I have a reason for bringing this up now, Rachel. As you know I have been watching out for Tom's children, basically keeping house for him, cooking and taking care of his children and his father. I had thought that he was considering me as a possible future wife. He seemed to always be concerned about my welfare as well as Ava's, even from the time we were on the Vyerni and he was Ruskov's prisoner. Can you imagine that he remembered the name of the officer whose quarters Ava and I were staying in, so that he could rescue us before his team left the ship? He really went out of his way to rescue us. We would have died on that ship had he not done that. Because of that, I really thought he cared about us."

Rachel said, "The Captain does care about you both because he would never have left Quincy's wife and child on the ship if there was a way to get you out. He also felt responsible because of the sacrifice Quincy made for the cure. He died and left you alone and for that, the Captain wanted to make sure you were safe, so he made sure you were placed in a house next to his own family. He has just lost his wife, who he dearly loved, Kelly. His children and his father watched her die. He is not ready nor are his children ready for him to remarry. Do not mistake compassion and caring for you to mean that he is ready for a relationship."

Kelly looked at Rachel closely. "Rachel, I noticed something else at breakfast.

The reason I brought up Quincy and my being jealous of you, was because what finally convinced me that Quincy was indeed in love with me, was the fact that Quincy never looked at you the way he looked at me. Well, this morning, I was watching the Captain very closely. I saw that exact same look from him, only he was looking at you, Rachel, what I saw this morning, tells me he is in love with you. Is that what this is Rachel? Has Tom fallen in love with you? Please tell me the truth."

Rachel knew she could not lie and Kelly would find out eventually, anyway. Rachel let out the breath she had been holding. "Yes, Kelly, he loves me and I love him, but we never knew it really until after I was shot. He had been mourning his wife since Baltimore and that was not that long ago. It was too soon for him to do anything about our growing feelings for each other. His children have just lost their mother and they are not ready mentally or emotionally for a new mother. Tom and I know this and are going to hold off letting anyone know of our feelings for each other. My injury has not yet healed and we both have to connect with the children on a steady basis. We hope all will be well in the future, but it is not yet the right time for us either.

Ashley was very disturbed by your showing interest in her father before she is ready to consider the idea of him remarrying. I see it would cause a problem if it were me as well."

Kelly looked so humiliated and she started to cry. "I thought Ashley was getting accustomed to me, because of all of the things I was doing for them. I thought she was thinking of me that way. I thought she liked me and I know she likes Ava. I thought she would want her father to be happy and I thought he would want me. Oh my god, I am so humiliated. I am such a fool. I read all of the signals incorrectly. Of course he would fall in love with you. You are the great Dr. Scott, the savior of the world. I am just soiled goods. Ruskov used me as his whore aboard the Vyrney. I will never feel clean again. Tom knew that. No wonder he would not want me. I am tainted from contact with that monster. What man in his right mind would ever want someone like me?"

She sobbed and continued, "On top of that, I was so cruel to Quincy for leaving me and Ava in that man's hands. Ruskov made me do the most vile things with him or he would threaten to give Ava to his men. I had no choice, Rachel. Still, I blamed Quincy for my humiliation. I was ashamed of him for what he had done on the Nathan James, even though he had no more choice than I did. Ruskov threatened him with our lives if he failed. It was so wrong, Rachel, but sometimes I hated Quincy for our being in that place, even though he did not know we were in danger of being kidnapped. I knew on some level that it was wrong for me to blame him, but I couldn't help it at the time. I was so angry at having experienced such a horror. What must it have been like for him having Ruskov threatening him with giving both of us to his men? I only thought of myself when blaming him. I hurt him so much by doing that, Rachel."

She placed her head in her hands, her face streaked with tears, "Rachel, I never got a chance to tell Quincy that I still loved him that I had always loved him and I did not really blame him, but he died not knowing how much I truly cared for him. How can I ever forgive myself?"

Kelly was sobbing, her humiliation running the gambit of her emotions. "How could I ever expect any decent man, like the Captain, to love me? He only felt sorry for me and Ava. Oh God, Rachel how can I feel so ashamed. How can I ever show my face to him? He is in love with you, of course he is? I just want to die."

Rachel pulled herself up and yelled at the hysterical woman. "Kelly, now you stop that right this minute! You have everything to live for. You have Ava. You are still a beautiful woman. You are still young enough to have a new husband and a great life. You are smart and accomplished. Something terrible happened to you at the hands of a monster, but that did not taint you. You had to do whatever he said. Your daughter's life was at stake. Tom knew that. He would never have thought of you as a whore. It is not because of Ruskov that he was not interested in you as a wife. He was in deep mourning for his own wife. He could not think of anyone else at the time. There is a man out there for you, Kelly, one who will love you and cherish you and Ava. He will feel so lucky to have found a prize like you. You are the widow of a hero who was part of the Nathan James and who gave his life to save the cure for humanity. You yourself and your daughter were also helping on the Nathan James to prepare the many items needed for the cure. You both played a part in all of that. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kelly."

She continued, "For your information, Kelly, the president is having a special party in a few days and he is inviting a number of special guests from St. Louis. There will be military officers, government officials and some of our top scientists in attendance. We have to all dress up for the dance, which is formal. I am going to get Bertrise to help me. I haven't told Ashley yet, but we will all be able to go and it should be great fun. We have a wonderful dress shop here and I know we can find some perfect gowns for the occasion, unless you have found anything that you brought with you from Norfolk. Bertrise is absolutely so talented in doing hair and I am sure she will be delighted to work her magic on you, as well as the rest of us. You have such beautiful blonde hair. Neither of us have had a chance to look this special for a long time.

You are going to look stunning. You wait and see how beautiful you are. You can hold your head up lady and never look back. Tom tells me there are many unattached men coming. You are not the only one who has lost their spouse. You are going to look fabulous, Kelly. Have no fear. You will be finding someone soon. I feel it in my bones."

Rachel looked at Kelly and saw her whole appearance had changed. She could suddenly see that she did have a chance at a wonderful life and she was ready for it. Rachel said "Now go in and take one of those sunken tub baths and use some of those wonderful oils and hair products they have stocked in the wonderful spa bathrooms we have here in the suits. Ava, Ashley and Bertrice will also be able to go and you and I will have to make sure they are all looking lovely as well. It will be so much fun, don't you see, Kelly?"

Kelly gave Rachel a hug, being careful not to hurt her shoulder. She said, "Rachel, will you promise me that you will not mention to Tom anything about what I told you. I would die if he ever found out what a fool I made of myself fantasizing about him."

Rachel placed her hand on Kelly's arm. Kelly, I am your friend and a doctor. I am very good at keeping confidences. You can be sure that what we have been discussing will stay in this room. Of that, you can be sure. Now get settled in tonight and tomorrow we will start planning for the dance party. You are going to end of being the most beautiful woman at the dance, I am sure."

When Tom returned later in the day from his meeting with the POTUS, he noticed Rachel she was in a great mood. He asked her if she had her talk with Kelly. Rachel said, "Tom, mission is accomplished. There is really no problem. Kelly is one of my best friends and it will be delightful having another woman living nearby so that we can have tea together and talk. We are already making plans for getting the girls ready for the president's party. You did say there are a number of attractive unattached men who will be coming, right?"

Tom turned and gave her a smirk, "Oh, Dr. Scott, so you are really looking for an attractive unattached man, are you?"

Rachel winked at him and said. "I am."

Tom smiled, "Should I be worried?"

Rachel looked up into his beautiful laughing blue eyes and said, "Well, I was actually looking on behalf of a friend of mine. I already have a stunningly handsome naval officer, who is the love of my life and I don't really think any other could come even close to making me as happy as he makes me."

Tom chuckled," Yes and that naval officer could not be happier than to be the love of your life, for the feeling is quite mutual. If you are looking for someone for your friend, I think you will find a number of the men coming to this party, could be possibilities. Are we, then, to become matchmakers, you and I, Dr. Scott?"

Rachel gave him the most enchanting smile, "Oh, that we are, Captain. Are you up for it, my love?"

He cocked his head and gave her a full grin, "It will be my pleasure, my dear Dr. Scott, though there are certainly other things I can imagine right now, that I would rather be up for. But then, alas, we will have to wait a while for those things, won't we?"

Rachel responded with a smoldering look from beneath her lashes, "Unless we can come up with some stealth mission planning which will take a great deal of care and creativity, but then, as I remember, you are pretty good at getting your missions accomplished, Captain and so am I.

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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12, Stand Fast

Over the next few days, Rachel was extremely busy, juggling her schedule. As her recovery progressed, she had taken on the duty of overseeing what was happening with the lab in St. Louis, as best she could, keeping in direct contact with her people there. She also took very seriously what she considered to be her responsibility to prepare Ashley, Ava, Bertrise, Kelly and herself for the big dance party that the POTUS had planned at the Fortress. The top people in the state, local and the federal governments, as well as his most influential military officers, stationed in St. Louis and of course, those officers, scientists housed at the Fortress were invited, along with specific spouses, older children and special guests. Captain Chandler made sure that his security forces, including officers and enlisted were invited. Danny, Kara, Wolf, Miller, Cruz and Burk were included with a number of others, including his medical personnel, nurses and doctors. Of course some of his security people were also on duty and would be armed, but the POTUS wanted to make sure they would have time off, within their duties to take part in the party. There would be plenty of military security guarding the entire Fortress area.

Rachel and Kelly took the girls to a dress shop in the lobby of the huge Fortress complex. They had their contingent of security with them. This security detail waited just outside the dress shop to make sure they checked out every person who walked in while their charges were being helped. Even though all of the people housed at the Fortress, now, were key and essential personnel, military or government for the most part, the facility was run by civilians, who had been working there before. Though they were technically checked out, it was nearly impossible, with the infrastructure that the present government had at this point, to be doing really thorough background checks.

The girls were very excited. It was their first big dance, since none of them were really old enough to have gone to anything formal in school before this. The owner of the shop helped them with their choices herself, letting them know that she had a seamstress on staff at the shop, who could fit them exactly with whatever gowns they chose. She would also have traveled back to her sources in the city if they wanted to have different choices. She had a sample book with lovely photographs showing gowns and dresses at all different price points. Many were actually for special occasions, balls, proms, weddings, coming out parties and debutant balls.

All three girls finally made their selections, which fit their young figures to the satisfaction of both Kelly and Rachel. Rachel was careful to let the choice be left up to each girl and took special care never to give her opinion until the girls asked for it. She was so secretly pleased, however, that all three girls actually asked how Rachel liked their choices. Rachel told them all how lovely they looked and she told them that Captain Chandler would be very proud of all of them.

It had taken a few hours for the girls make their choices and Rachel had to pace herself, but it worked out fine. Rachel and Kelly were going to wait to make their own choices when they could come back to the shop alone, but the girls wanted to see which gowns Rachel and Kelly would choose for themselves. They insisted on waiting for Rachel and Kelly to decide what they would each wear for this party.

Rachel had to choose one which was not strapless because of her injury. She found a lovely flowing periwinkle blue gown, with a halter neck. The shop owner had a beautiful matching lace bolero jacket, which did not detract from the soft draped effect of the bodice in front and accentuated Rachel's lovely long neck. All agreed that Rachel looked absolutely beautiful.

Rachel and the shop owner found the perfect gown for Kelly. It was so elegant, in a champagne gold. It had a Greek goddess cut, which flowed over her Lovely figure and accentuated Kelly's blonde hair color. Rachel was so pleased. She thought Kelly looked like royalty. She was sure she would attract a great deal of attention at the President's ball. She also knew that Kelly would not be short of dance partners. The girls could only ooh and ah. Ava looked at her mother in awe.

Kelly herself was afraid it was a bit much, but she smiled. Rachel said "Wait until Bertrice does your hair, Kelly. She will make you look amazing."

The girls were all so excited that they could hardly contain themselves. They had left their dresses at the shop for alterations. The dresses would be brought to their suites when they were ready. Rachel could only smile as Ashley hugged her and said, "Oh Rachel, I want to surprise daddy. I don't want him to see my dress until the night of the party. Do you really think he will like It.?"

Rachel said, "Ashley, I know he will be so surprised at how grown up you look. He is going to think you are stunning... All three of you girls are going to look so lovely. I can't wait for him to see you."

Late that afternoon, Tom arrived at his suite with someone he wanted Rachel to meet. She was working in the area she used for an office in his main suite, while she was working away from the labs. He had called her earlier to tell her he was bringing someone with him, so she was waiting for them with coffee and tea. Rachel was very curious as to just who Tom wanted her to meet, who he thought was important enough to bring all the way to the Fortress by helicopter.

Now Tom walked into the suite with an officer who was stunningly handsome, and was definitely not someone she recognized. Rachel stood waiting for them. Both men were wearing their khaki uniforms, each carrying their covers under his arm. Tom said, "Rachel, I want you to meet Commander Jeffrey Stanton. Jeff, this is Dr, Rachel Scott."

Rachel was immediately impressed with the way this officer carried himself. He was very well built, about the same height and stature as Tom, with a kind of sandy blonde hair. Rachel looked up into his warm and friendly face, where she met the most unusually stunning green eyes, which seemed to sparkle with a bit of good humor behind them. She noticed how strong and firm his handshake was as he said, "Dr. Scott, if you only knew how long I have wanted to meet you in person. I have studied your formulas and admire your work. I have so many things to discuss with you, when you are feeling up to it."

Rachel cocked her head, "You have studied my formulas?"

Tom said, "Rachel, you may be surprised to learn that Jeff is also a Virologist. He has been working in one of the Navy's most top secret labs. This lab has been endeavoring to find treatments and cures for some of the world's worst viruses and how to combat not only the viruses themselves, but also the weaponized versions of those viruses. Because it was so top secret, it was not part of the labs working with the CDC or any of the other standard government Labs. The lab he has been connected with is just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, most of which was underground. He is Navy, but NASA was also involved.

Jeff knew about your work and he read up on your theories before you were sent out on the Nathan James. He was brought in after they became aware that the virus had become weaponized and was moving at a much faster rate. He has been working on a cure using a different technology, which involves using quantum physics. I think you will be very interested in the different methods he is using to come up with something we may be able to combine with what you have done or which we could enhance what you have already done. Well, I guess I should let him explain it to you himself."

Rachel was a bit skeptical, due to the fact that she did not recognize his face or his name and had never even heard of him being part of any of the scientific or medical channels she had been part of from all over the world. She wondered how she could possible not have heard of him if he was so versed in the knowledge of her cure and of the Red Flu. Still there was something about him that made her look very intently at his handsome face and keenly intelligent eyes. He looked extremely confident, yet not the least bit arrogant, even though what he had told Tom had evidently convinced him that this new technology could work well with what she had developed. He certainly had her attention. She said, "Well then, by all means, please tell me more. It is then, Dr. Jeff Stanton, I am addressing, I presume?"

Tom ushered Jeff over to the Kitchen Island where Rachel had set out the mugs, cream and sugar. They all prepared their own hot beverage, according to the way they like them. The two men picking up their respective mugs of coffee as Rachel brought her cup of tea and the three of them made themselves comfortable at one end or the large conference table in the common room.

Jeff had lifted what looked like a computer case to the top of the table. He opened it and tilted the screen so that Rachel could see it, saying, "Now, before I show you exactly how this works, I had better explain a few things about the type of work I have been doing. Then, you will be able to better understand how I believe we will be able to work together, using the technology I am been working with, to possibly give you yet another avenue to take the cure you have discovered to a different level."

Jeff took a drink of his hot coffee before continuing, taking a deep breath. "For a number of years, under top secret conditions, the Navy and NASA have worked on a joint government project, involving Scalar Energy technology, or some call it Zero Point Energy. This is using frequencies which can heal and counter many types of diseases and physical and mental conditions that afflict the human population. This energy is in everything around us, even in plants and all cells of every kind.

This is based on the fact that each and every living organism has its own frequency. Once the correct frequency or frequencies are identified, we can find the frequencies that can counter or kill the organisms which cause harm. This works on all pathogens, viruses, bacteria, amoeba, and cancers and so on. Specific kinds of diseases have their own frequencies and variations as well as conditions caused by offshoots of various symptoms and complications that stem from the original diseases.

Scalar energy can be used in a multitude of different ways, however what I have been working on is using this technology to scan the body to determine what type of conditions are present and the technology starts using the counter frequencies which will cure or correct the situation or condition, that the scan identifies.

This technology is used in many different ways within our government. I guess one of the most unusual facts about this technology is that these frequencies can be used at a distance. They just have to have some kind of identifying factor. It is like using your cell phone. Once the technology has your marker or your unique identifier, the scanner finds you, no matter where you are on the planet and can treat you for any ailment you might have. We have been working on groups of people. We can have an identifier, for instance, for the father of a family and the scanner can be set to treat and cure anyone related to him, no matter where the other members are located. This technology can scan all of them and treat them each individually for totally different conditions, all at the same time, even if they are in different locations. We can also scan a group of people in one location, who are not related. This scan would be done by location, so that everyone at that location would be scanned and treated when necessary. The operator of the scan could be half a world apart from them. We could treat a whole ship load of people at the same time. It is quite advanced, but we have to program it to do all of that."

He continued, "What I have been working on is to find the frequencies for the Red Flu and for the frequency or frequencies for the cure. It is not an easy thing to find. We started with identifying frequencies which cure viruses with some similar symptoms, like other Ebola. Then you have to deal with weaponized versions and variations there of. What I am talking about here is the tip of the iceberg, with regards to what this scalar energy can be used for. This is just giving you a quick overview of a little of what this energy can do. I will get more specific as we work together. I have the frequencies for the Red Flu, but I need to develop counter frequencies from your cure, so that a scalar energy cure can be developed."

Rachel was quietly, but intently listening, her mind filled with many questions, but this possibility was extremely exciting to her. She asked how this technology had started.

Dr. Stanton queried Rachel. "Dr. Scott, are you at all familiar with the work of Royal Rife, from back in the 30's?"

She responded excitedly, "I am slightly familiar with his name and I have heard that there are doctors who are using frequency medicine, I had heard that some people, specifically in alternative medicine are still using many of his frequencies even today, but that his labs in the United States were completely destroyed by those who were afraid of his ability to cure diseases and conditions that would mean they would not need many of their drugs and surgeries. Many of the devices were destroyed, along with his research. He is no longer living, of course."

Dr. Stanton continued, "That is true, but others have continued what he started and enhanced and improved what he started into something far more sophisticated and comprehensive. It is into all different types of medicine at this point, even oriental medicine and many different modalities. What I am doing with viruses is only a fraction of what this technology is capable of. This technology uses quantum physics. To many it still seems like science fiction, but once one sees how it works and gets their head around the concepts, it makes it easier. If you will agree to explore the use of this technology in conjunction with your cure, I will be showing you exactly how this might work and you and I can see if we can come up with a way to use this technology in conjunction with your work to help in spreading the cure around the world."

Rachel looked at Tom. He could see she was excited as the possibilities hit her, but she knew there would be much more she had to understand about what this could possibly mean to her own work. She liked the way Dr. Stanton explained what he had been working on and she told him that she would be open to the possibility of what this could mean. She said. "Dr. Stanton, will you be working here at the Fortress or in St. Louis or at another lab area."

Tom said, "With your permission, I want him to work with you here for a time so that he can work on the parts of the equation you can help him with, involving your formulas and working through some different possibilities. He will then need to be working in the lab in St. Louis with actual cure and viruses. He will be traveling back and forth and also can work through teleconference, as needed. You will be working closely together for the next few months. I am arranging a suite for him here at the fortress. An office or working space will be set up here as well and the two of you and any staff you need will be accommodated as best we can. We are not, however, set up for a full lab here. If necessary, I could work that, but hopefully, we will be able to stabilize the situation in St. Louis, so it will be safe for all of us all to return to permanent quarters there."

Rachel said, "Dr. Stanton, do you have family that you need to bring here?"

A shadow passed across his face, "There is only my 13 year old son, Matthew and myself. My wife contracted the Red Flu, early on, before we knew the virus had been weaponized. She was on a business trip to Europe. Matt and I were to join her for a vacation in another week, but she died along with everyone who had been on the flight she took between France and Italy.

Needless to say, we were both blindsided and nothing that I was working on would have helped. Because of my work, I was part of a select group of scientists and technicians, who were ordered to go to a safe underground lab in New Mexico and we were allowed to bring our families, so Matt came with me, though my wife, Jillian was already gone."

He continued, "This was a Navy/ NASA facility. We had our own supplies, enough for a year, for all of the families and scientists and those who served on our staffs. I was working with some others to create something to use to fight the Red Flu with frequencies, but I really needed an actual cure to have the correct frequency. I could only use a combination of frequencies which were used on other diseases which had similar symptoms. It was not enough to keep people from dying, even though it slowed it down a bit. I prayed each day that you would find an actual cure so that I could get the right frequencies to place into the network that we could actually use to spread the cure over the world.

He continued, "After a while our contact with the outside became sporadic. We finally heard that the Nathan James had a cure and that you were headed to St. Louis. We sent our security unit to St. Louis and made contact with Captain Chandler. We were able to get the contagious cure spread among all of us at the labs in New Mexico. We will eventually need to bring a team of my scientists to this area to establish a complimentary base of operations, if this all works out as I think it will. I needed to work with you, Dr. Scott. I am so honored to actually meet you, at last."

Captain Chandler has informed me that I will need to bring my son here, but I myself will need to travel between the two locations and on occasion may have to travel back to the lab in New Mexico. I am not sure how that will work. I may have to have a staff member see that Matt is supervised and fed when I am away. Tom told me that a school is being established here for his own children and other children of personnel stationed here at the Fortress. We only had tutors for the few children we had with us underground. It will be good for him to be around other students his age in more or less a regular school situation."

Tom said, "There is another adjoining suite to this one. It is unoccupied and sealed off from this one at the present time, but we could move you and Matt into that one. It would be a separate living area with two bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms, which has its own exit into the hall, but which also has a door which can open into this suite. The adjoining door can be locked and closed off, while you are here and the adjoining door unlocked and open when you are away. This is an identical suite to the one Dr. Scott has, a completely separate suite of rooms on this side of this suite. That way we could have Matt take his meals with my family when you are away and he is welcome to be with us at night to do his homework or to read, watch TV, where there will be adult supervision. Since the two suites are adjoining, he will have access to adults and to my children. Many of our meals are supplied by the Fortress's kitchen staff. One of their teachers, Kelly Tophet is right down the hall as well. He will be well taken care of while you are away, Jeff. We would be happy to have him. My children will welcome another young person around their own ages. These quarters have 24/7 security guard protection and the children on this floor are escorted everywhere they go. He will be safe. They are always outside the doors. When we finish here, I can show you the other adjoining suite. I think it should fit the bill, unless you think you need more room. You will also have close contact to Dr. Scott, whose suite, as I mentioned, also adjoins this one."

Jeff looked relieved as the problem with Matt seemed to be solved. Rachel let him know that she would welcome his input and to see if using his medical frequency techniques would be another way to pass on the cure, especially when he spoke of it being possible to control the distribution from a distance. That could be invaluable. She could not wait to discuss this further as soon as possible.

Rachel asked, "Dr. Stanton, will you and Matt be coming to the formal party the President will be giving here at the Fortress?"

Tom said, "By all means, Jeff, you are part of the Fortress now. You will need to wear your dress Blues and your son will need to wear a tux. You still have a few days before the official ball. There is a shop in the Lobby mall here. The sooner you can move yourself and Matt in here, the better. I can have the things you want to bring here be packed up and brought here by helo. It is not really secure for us in St. Louis, except the area around the hotel, where we have the rest of our people living, until a secure area can be built for all of us to return to normal living quarters. We will have a room in the hotel where you will have quarters while you work in the lab in St. Louis. Come with me now and take a look at the suite I was talking about. See if this looks like it would work for you."

Tom and Jeff took their leave of Rachel to see about getting Jeff and his son set up with quarters and Rachel was very excited to be able to explore a new technology to deal with getting the cure out. She also knew she wanted to introduce Kelly to this very handsome new addition to the officer pool here at the Fortress and he even had a son who Kelly would be teaching very soon. It seemed Rachel's matchmaking skills would be in full swing. She just hoped the chemistry would be there between Dr. Jeffrey Stanton and Kelly. "Oh, this is going to be fun", she thought. "I can't wait to throw the two of them together. The Kelly problem may be solved and as for myself, I absolutely cannot wait to speak with him at length about all the particulars involved in this technology and how it will work with what I have so far."

Rachel's mind had been intrigued by the ideas that kept popping into her head, as to what might be possible, that she actually waited until Tom and Jeff had returned to the main suite, after their tour of Jeff's new quarters.

Jeff was saying, "Well Matt will be astounded. This is certainly a far cry from the underground quarters we had at the lab in New Mexico."

Tom laughed, "Yes, it is a bit over the top, isn't it? Well, you have to remember that his place was built as a retreat for the rich and famous and they liked their opulence. It is a bit different from the inside of a destroyer as well. It is our home for now and yours as well."

Rachel said, "Dr. Stanton, how soon can you be moved in? I want to know more about your work as soon as possible. I am most intrigued about the possibility of spreading the cure from a distance. I will want to work with you right away if possible."

He responded, "I have to collect my son. He is in the hotel room guarded by two of Captain Chandler's security team. I can bring him to the Fortress as soon as transport can be arranged." We could move in by tomorrow, if it can be arranged."

Tom said, "Jeff, I will order a team to get you relocated tomorrow. They will collect you both at 0900 tomorrow morning. Rachel, could you oversee that they get settled into their suite. My people will have your keys etc. I hope you and Matt will join us for dinner tomorrow night. I would like you to meet my family and of course, Rachel will join us, along with a couple of other people you should know, who also reside on this floor. I can have lunch brought up for you and Matt earlier. Rachel, will let you know how to order what you want."

Jeff looked at Rachel and said, "I hope you will call me Jeff, since we will all be neighbors soon."

Rachel said, "Jeff, by all means and please, you may call me Rachel. I will be most interested in discussing more about your work at your earliest convenience. You have my curiosity tweaked and you will have my full attention. I am looking forward to it."

Tom said, "Yes Jeff, I too will be interested in hearing more about this new technology of yours. Dinner will be at 1900 hours and you can be casual. It will be just family and a couple of friends. Just be comfortable."

Jeff smiled, "Oh, I am looking forward to it, Tom."

Tom called down to have Jeff escorted to the heliport and after Jeff had taken his leave, Tom turned to Rachel and cocking his head, he asked, "Well, what do you think of our Dr. Jeffrey Stanton? Did I make a good choice?"

Rachel slid her hand to his face and gently ran her fingers along his strong jaw line. "Oh, I think you made a wonderful choice. He comes across like he really knows his business. I am very excited about working with him and his techniques. If they can be combined with mine, and from what he says, I think he may be right about that. If he is right, we can do some amazing things. I just need to know all possibilities. I have a feeling, this will be amazing."

She then lightly brushed her lips across his and he groaned as he captured her lips and kissed her deeply. After he took his time relishing pressing her lush body into his, he reluctantly pushed back from her gently. "Alright, now do you want to tell me just what you have up your sleeve? Rachel, don't look at me that way, you little minx. We don't have the privacy for me to do what I would like to do and besides I think you are trying to seduce me and I would like to know why, when you told me it was too soon for the children."

Rachel looked up into his blue eyes and slid her hand up his stomach to his chest as she said, Why Captain, I think you may have solved that problem for us. It may not take as long as we thought. Kelly, I think was the problem for Ashley more than anything else. I think we should invite Kelly and Ava to dinner tomorrow night. Don't you?"

Tom burst out laughing as he realized her point. "So that's it. You think Kelly should meet Jeff. You are just the little matchmaker, aren't you? Rachel, you had better be careful. What if they can't stand one another?"

Rachel grinned, "Well, of course, I think they will both be attracted, I hope. At least she will no longer be going after you. He is a doctor, just like her former husband and they have a lot in common, each being single parents, both having lost their spouses. Let's just see what happens. I told her, she would be meeting some handsome officers. Jeff Stanton certainly more than fits that description"

Tom frowned as he looked at her. "Oh, so you think Jeff is handsome, do you? Should I be worried?"

Rachel laughed out loud. "I shouldn't stroke your ego, but I don't think you have anything to worry about, Captain Thomas Chandler."

Tom gave her a long contemplative look as he said huskily, pulling her closely into his chest. "Rachel, when it comes to me, you can stroke anything you like, as long as you do it in private.

Let's just hope your plan works and we can get my children to accept you sooner rather than later. I think they both already adore you."

Rachel laid her head on his chest, saying, "I hope so, Tom. I really do, because I already adore both of them, not to mention how much I want to be with their stubborn, but oh so sexy father. When I am near you, I just want to be very naughty indeed."

Tom groaned and held her closer, laughing, "Rachel, it is all I can do to keep my hands off of you. We just have to make sure you are physically cleared for action and then we can be naughty, indeed."

Note: I would love to have reviews from any who find this chapter interesting. We writers all like to hear what you all think.


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